Tanebi
by Midnight Zero
Summary: War has broken out between the entire shinobi world. During a mission, Sakura ends up in the hands of the enemy forces. Now she has to find out who her real friends are. NaruxSaku, OCxTay, rated for language. Part 1 Complete. See Author's note for details.
1. Rain

Rain has a way of changing many things. But in the case of one Sakura Haruno, this particular rain has changed everything. Her life was changed and everything that she thought was changed. Her eyes, normally a piercing jade color were now dull and lifeless. Like a zombie. Her body hung limply on the back of Lucien, an enemy shinobi who captured her.

To his left was a male with long black hair and white robes. His eyes were a pale lavender. To his right was a girl who had the same eyes, but wore a white coat with purple pants. In front of the shinobi was a girl with long orange hair and a gray tank top with black ninja pants and orange belt. And the shinobi himself has long silver hair and a gentle blue gaze.

Sure she had a slew of injuries from the attack that these ninjas gave her. And while they did hurt and were enormously painful, what hurt more was her heart. The man who she honestly thought was destined to be with her had betrayed her. He could have saved her from this, by heeding the warning that the ninja carrying her.

It was a sneak attack in the rain by their rivals and opponents in this war, the Village hidden in the Tanebi, a war that was only a year old. Her team, made up of Sasuke, Kiba, and an informant on the target, Larsa were tracking down a dangerous criminal known as a deep. They were then ambushed but despite that, held their own against the force when another ninja Sasame joined them. Kiba and Larsa both fell fast after that while Sasuke struggled with the Hyuuga male. Sakura had just gotten captured when the ninja made his demands of Sasuke that would set Sakura free.

She tried to think back to simpler times. Back to when she was younger and still thought that Sasuke was everything in the world. Back to when she first encountered an Tanebi shinobi at her first chunin exam. Back to when she met the ninja carrying her, Lucien. Also she thought about him. The person who she was born to hate and born to fight. She was always taught that he was pure evil and a demon incarnate. The enemy of Konoha. Ironic that he seemed to care more about her, then the so-called savior of Konoha who she was born to love. It seemed to Sakura, that everything that she learned growing up about everything was a complete lie.

FLASHBACK

It had been twelve years since a mass defection from Konoha. A mass defection that brought about the complete removal of the Hyuuga clan, the past hokage and family, multiple ANBU and the biggest prodigy that Konoha had ever seen.

What happened twelve years ago that caused this? Simple. A demon known as Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village and the Yondaime hokage sealed it into his son. However that was simply a cover up. The reality was that Yondaime led the Kyuubi there just so he could give his son Naruto the kind of power to make him stronger then anyone and control the world. At least, that's what the Uchiha clan said anyway. As a retribution, they demanded that Naruto Uzumaki, the child who was born of Yondaime, be killed on sight for a retribution for his father's crime.

The Hyuuga however didn't believe that story at all and kept Naruto in their care for protection. They said that anyone who tries to take Naruto would be killed on sight no questions asked. Several of Konoha's civilians were mercilessly slaughtered.

The situation was grave. Without the hokage, the entire village was in a state of martial law and the Hyuuga could continue to do whatever they wanted to do with Naruto. Punish them anyway that they wanted to. As a step-in the village knew that a new hokage, a hokage who would be neutral to both parties would need to be selected. A person who could easily diffuse the terrible situation. Most people wanted the previous hokage, but since he selected the present hokage, naturally he would have a bias.

Other then him, no suitable candidates could be selected so they took charge themselves. They demanded that the Hyuuga give up Naruto, or they would take him by force. The Hyuuga refused and a civil war seemed inevitable. But, when Konoha planned a raid on the Hyuuga estate, they found out that the Hyuuga fled along with several shinobi who supported them. Among those left were the previous hokage and his family, the entire Akimichi and Nara clans, several civilians and merchants, the best weapon maker in the village, Jiriya of the Sannin, and Fugaku Uchiha's oldest son Itachi.

Without the conflict of the Hyuuga, Konoha could freely choose a successor to the position of hokage and one was chosen. He was a man of great political power and the former head of the police force. A man who now had the single most powerful clan in the village. Their choice was Fugaku Uchiha.

Two years later, a new village was constructed in the fields of Rice Country. Though it was ten years after that before they would send a gennin team to the chunin exam.

It was Sakura's first year as a gennin and she was thrilled just to be that. Her teammates were a raven haired boy and the current son of the hokage and genius of the Uchiha clan Sasuke Uchiha. Her other teammate was the local dunce and flea breathed boy Kiba Inuzuka. As son of the Hokage, Sasuke had everything that he wanted. People would go out of their way to get Sasuke anything he wanted. Though what he wanted most of all was the head of the Uchiha traitor Itachi. Her other teammate, Kiba, didn't like Sasuke at all. He felt that Sasuke was not only a complete spoiled brat, but also that he was angsty and dark child. Sakura felt that being with someone as awesome as Sasuke was worth being with someone as terrible as Kiba.

Now, her team was nominated for the chunin exams and was walking through the streets when she met them. The three people who would change her life forever. They wore the symbol that she'd never even seen. The first person up front, had spiked black hair that was a complete wreck. He had on a simple blue shirt with black pants. On his forehead was the protector that had the shape of what looked like a volcano. To the right was a boy a little taller then him. At least, she thought that it was a boy. The bottom of his face was covered by a mask as was the top and sides of his head. He wore a baggy blue shirt with blue pants. He also wore his protector on his forehead. The last wore hers around her neck. She had long red hair with a white shirt with a yin-yang on the back. She had black pants.

Sasuke, Kiba, and herself had just finished a C-rank mission, taking out some bandits and getting out of the hokage tower when they saw the other team in the lobby sitting down. Team seven just stared at the group.

"Hey, what the fuck are you lookin at you pink haired bimbo?" The red-head yelled.

"What was that?" Sakura yelled while raising her fist and walking towards the other gennin. The masked gennin got in front of her.

"I'm terribly sorry," he started in a unique accent. "you must forgive Tayuya-san here. She meant no harm. She just talks like that when she meets someone new."

"Lucien, how many times have I told you to knock off the san shit around me. Just Tayuya got it?"

"Sorry Tayuya." The ninja bowed his head in apology.

"Who are you? Where are you from, and what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked the trio.

"I see duckass haircut over here doesn't screw around. Fine I'll tell you, we're from Tanebi, our names are none of your business, and we're here for the chunin exams. That enough for you duckass?"

"Hey, you can't talk to Sasuke-kun like that! He's the hokage's son so you'd better show some respect you read haired bitch."

"Really? Well Tayuya and Ruto are the children of the leader of Tanebi. Therefore by your logic, you can't talk to them like that." Lucien told her.

"So what? The slut over has no right to call Sasuke-kun over here anything. She should apologize before she gets herself into a mess of trouble with the hokage." Before Sakura could even blink, the black haired got up and got right in her face before. His Blue eyes dulled and drilled into hers like nothing that she had experianced before in her life. In her body was fear, but mixed in with that fear was a sense of protection that he had for his sister.

"Never call my sister a slut." He spoke calmly but clearly and sent chills down the young girls spine. "Come on guys, let's get out of here and settle this little mess in the exams, I need some ramen and I need it now."

"Tanebi? I've never even heard of that village before. Hey Sasuke, do you know anything about them? Did your father tell you anything?" Kiba asked.

"Not much. They're a new village but their leader is a complete unknown. We sent an envoy there to see what's going on, but they didn't find out anything. When asked if they would join an alliance with us, they disagreed for undisclosed reasons."

"Are they a threat?" Kiba asked.

"No. Need I remind you that I am the hokage's son. I have the power to bring that traitor to justice. Also with your combination attacks and Sakura's intellect, no team should be a problem for us."

"Yeah but at what cost? I mean in terms of practical skill us three were in the top five in the entire class. We're a stacked team for sure but the other teams are weak. Plus with two of their leaders children on the team, then we should also realize that this team won't go down easily."

"Don't worry about anything Kiba. We can easily take care of any of them. We're the best of the best for a reason. Just leave it all to Sasuke-kun and we'll all be chunin."

Team seven broke up into their own individual tasks after this. Sasuke went to train with his own personal trainer Ebisu who would try to shape Sasuke into a shinobi better then one ever seen and Sakura would watch him in his private lessons. After he was done she asked if he wanted to go out with her which he would always refuse. Today was no different and she found herself walking around the village trying to find a place who would offer her a simple salad. After all she had to keep her figure up.

Walking around she bumped into somebody sending both of them down to the ground. She looked up and saw the boy, Ruto there. He dusted himself off and then offered her a hand up.

"Oh I'm sorry about that, didn't see you there. Are you alright?"

Sakura just sat there for a moment and reluctantly accepted. "It's fine. What are you doing here without your teammates?"

"My sister disappeared so Lucien and I went out to look for her, but I can't find anything around here. But for some reason I always pass by the same ramen shop. Perhaps that's because I always ask my nose for directions." Ruto said which earned a small giggle from Sakura.

"Well, this section of town is like a jungle. Especially at this hour and with the exams in town."

"I see. Well anyway I guess it's good that we met because I'm sorry about earlier. I just don't like it when somebody insults my sister."

"Well, I was a bit out of line too. I took offense to what she said about Sasuke-kun and things just went downward from there. We're hosting the exams and as such we should treat our guests with respect."

"You sound like someone yelled at you too huh?" Ruto said while rubbing the back of his head and smiling. Sakura herself also couldn't help but smile. The other boy's smile was just that infectous.

"Yeah, Kuranai-sensei had a fit about it and told us to behave around the locals. She said that because we're hosting this year's exams others are going to be looking at us under the microscope."

"My mom and sensei said the same thing. That we were a new village and people are going to amplify everything that we do. Especially since Tanebi only sent three teams." Both people stood there in a comfortable silence not really saying anything before Sakura broke the silence again after Ruto stared at the monument of Hokages and noticing that there were only four faces.

"Amazing isn't it? They're the pride of our village. All four of them protected the village with their lives and as such the people are grateful."

"Not that. Not to sound rude or anything, but isn't your current hokage the Godaime? If that's the case then shouldn't there be five faces on the monument instead of just the four?"

"Normally yes but Yondaime was a traitor." Ruto raised his eyes is shock after hearing this.

"What did he do that was really so bad?"

"He brought in a demon just so he could make his son powerful. As a result of this many innocent villagers and shinobi alike were brutally killed. I'm surprised that you never heard about this. We lost a few allies due to the scandal until hokage-sama cleared everything over with everyone else."

"That's not what we heard about the thing. We were informed that the assault of Kyuubi was a natural disaster and that the reason Konoha lost allies was because they handled the situation poorly. But I guess that that's the way perspective works eh ... uh ..." Naruto fumbled for the girl's name.

"Sakura."

"Sakura. That's nice you look like a Sakura. You can easily pass for a lovely cherry blossum floating in the wind." Sakura blushed at the compliment. It was strange. Not that long ago, he essentially threatened her, and now he was complimenting her in ways that Sasuke, or even Kiba had ever done. "So anyway whatever happened to the child and mother?"

"I don't know about the mother. We were never really told, but the child was taken in by another traitor clan who killed several innocent people before they fled the village with Sasuke-kun's brother."

"Are you referring to the Hyuuga incident?"

"How do you know their names?" Sakura said shocked.

"Tanebi has dealings with that clan. They told us that they took on an innocent child and got kicked out because they refused to hand the child over."

"Well don't be fooled by them. They're demons. A clan full of demons. I have nothing against the child, after all he didn't choose to be born of a traitor father, but the Hyuuga had no right to slaughter a bunch of innocents."

"I see. In that case, I shall be careful with how I associate with them from now on. I'm a little embarrassed to ask this, but do you think that you could help me look around the village? I'm new here so I'll probably get lost again and eat another ten bowls of ramen. Of course I'll compensate you." Ruto smiled at her.

"I don't know. I mean I barely know you and you are a rival team in the exams. How do I know that you won't use me to get Sasuke-kun out of the exams?" Ruto laughed and Sakura couldn't help but giggle as well at the boys antics. The boy's smile and laughter were just too infectous for her to fight off. But for some strange reason, she really didn't want to fight them off.

"If I did something like that, my mother would hit me with a barrage of swear words that would even make my sister blush. Besides, Sasuke seems to me like he'd be a decent challenge and a good test to put Tanebi on the map if we were to succeed. Think about it like an escort mission. I'll even give you C-rank pay. What do you say?"

Sakura thought for a moment before agreeing and Sakura guided Ruto around Konoha. Thankfully for her she didn't run into Sasuke, Ino, Kiba, or any of her other friends. She didn't want to give any of them a false idea about this guy. After about an hour of unsuccessful travel, Sakura decided to maybe ask Ruto a bit about his sister in hopes that maybe he would know something that would give them a better clue then just randomly walking around.

"Hey Ruto, where does your sister like to hang out? If we knew places that she liked to visit, then maybe we'd have a better clue about where to look for her."

Ruto put his hand on his chin and stayed in thought for a little while. "Well, I know that she dango. But I already checked a few dango shops so that won't be it. Other then that I'm sure that she likes flutes but I checked a couple music stores."

"Anything else that she likes?"

"Not too much. Wait, she likes sunsets in high places. Maybe she's at the monument?"

"That's a possibility. I'll take you to the top and if she's not there I'll take you back to your hotel because I doubt that you could find your way back." Ruto laughed at that joke and agreed with her as she took him to the monument. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

The two had made it to the top of the monument and arrived in time to see Lucien walk up and approach Tayuya. Sakura could just sense that something important was about to happen, so she took Ruto's wrist and hid behind a part of the mountain where they could both see and hear the scene develop.

Tayuya just looked at the setting sun from on top of the third hokage's head. She sighed and just sat there before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and was face to face with Lucien. "What do you want shitwad?"

Lucien just sat down next to the girl. "You disappeared on us and your brother and I were worried. Is this anything about that girl that we met in the tower?"

"It's just that ... she reminds me of all those girls that chase after my brother. They run around trying to get his ass in bed just so they can say that they fucked him and if they're lucky, pregnant so that they will essentially forced to be royalty. They know nothing about him. What he likes, what he hates. They don't know what his favorite color is or why he even wants to be a ninja. They don't know why our family struggled or how he struggled. They just know that he's the leader of Tanebi's son. A powerful, rich, and good looking boy. She's just like them and it pisses me off."

"I see."

"I mean I could see it in his eyes too. He's a kid that gets everything he wants with a snap of his fingers but we weren't like that. My mother wanted us to get strong on our own. No special classes, or special instructors anything."

"So are you mad at your mother then?"

"No I love my mother dearly. And I'm grateful that she did what she did. Just when I see a pathetic shit like that get worshiped like that while my father gets scorned and tossed around like some traitor piece of shit just pisses me off. I mean that shithead of a hokage they have gets worshiped for badmouthing my father and trying to kill my brother. Our best friends are talked about like a plague and our sensei is revered as purely evil. It just hurts you know." Tayuya started to weep lightly and Lucien pulled her into him.

"I know it does. You have to be so strong to protect him from those fan girls but you also need to know that somebody's got your back. We all want to protect you so that you don't have to be so strong. Speaking of which, I got you something for your birthday tomorrow. I wanted to save it but now seems like the best time." He reached into his coat and pulled out a rectangular box and gave it to her. She opened it up and was greeted by a flute.

"What's this?"

"Well I know that you're a flutist. But I also know that the only flute you have is your combat one. I thought that you might want a regular one in case you just wanted to play and not use it for combat."

"It's nice."

"Thank you. I wanted to get a nicer one, but this is the only one I can afford. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize you know. It's sweet." Tayuya pulled down the side of the boy's mask and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Lucien blushed and brought his hand up to his exposed cheek.

"W-what was that for?"

"That's what a girl gives a guy who gives an abrasive girl who swears all the time. And this is what a girl gives a guy who listens to everything I say no matter how bratty or pathetic." Tayuya pulled his mask all the way down and kissed him fully on the lips. Naruto's eyes bugged out fully and Sakura turned as pink as her hair. Tayuya pulled away leaving a dazed boy to try to regain his thoughts. _I think I broke him._

Even though Sakura was in the bushes hiding with Ruto, she could still hear what the two were saying. It angered her how carelessly Tayuya would badmouth her and compare her to all the other girls who wanted Sasuke. She was Sasuke's teammate and she knew that she knew him better then anyone in the village did and would ever know. At the same time, the kiss between Lucien and Tayuya was something that she always envisioned herself having with Sasuke.

Sakura had led Ruto away from the site. She figured that it would be best if the pair left Tayuya and Lucien alone for the time. Their walk back was primarily silent, mainly because Sakura was still a bit mad about what Tayuya had said about her, but she didn't want to bother the Tanebi gennin with her troubles.

"Sakura, is anything bothering you?" Ruto asked startling the pink haired gennin.

"Huh, no nothing is." Sakura responded.

"Sakura, one of my teammates rarely shows much emotion and I've gotten good at reading people and I can tell that something's bothering you. I'm not going to get mad or anything like that, I just want to know what's bothering you. Does it have anything to do with what my sister said?"

"Well, yeah it is. It's just … she thinks that I'm just like all those other girls that love Sasuke-kun only for things like his looks and status, but I'm not like that at all. I just hate being called a fan girl." Sakura said. She didn't know why she felt secure like this in front of a stranger, but it just felt right.

"I understand. You just have to understand that Tayuya is rather … judgmental about girls. You see what she said about some of the girls in Tanebi is right, but not about everyone. I'm sure that if Tayuya had spent the same amount of time with you as I did, then she would see that you truly care about him and not some fan girl."

FLASHBACK END

It was a memory that Sakura to this day never forgot. Until just a few hours ago she always told herself how wrong that Tayuya was about Sasuke and herself. Now in retrospect, she knew that Tayuya was right about her the whole time and she was blind to it. Blinded by Sasuke's looks, status, and power. She knew nothing about him, but now she could see everything. She wanted to be mad at Ruto as well, but at the same time she just couldn't bring herself to be mad at the boy for trying to comfort and console the her. Something that Sasuke would never even bother to do.

Sasuke never struggled for anything. Everything that he ever had was given to him. She didn't know anything about him. She didn't know his favorite color or food. She thought back to why she even liked Sasuke in the first place and what would happen if he did ask her out. Most likely she would rub it in the face of everyone. Treat him like some sort of trophy and accomplishment. Like she landed the Sasuke Uchiha.

But if that was the case, then why did she become a ninja? Was her entire life up to this point a complete and utter lie, a disgrace? Is that what all the training was?

Rain is an essential part of life. It makes crops able to grow and give water to have everybody drink. But in the case of Sakura, rain represented something else entirely. Rain represented the end. This rainfall marked the end of a life that she used to live. One where Sasuke Uchiha starred in everything. Where she would remain weak. But now, thanks to this rain and the people of Ember, she had a chance. A chance to start her life over to where she would no longer obsess about Sasuke and live for herself. That's the way it would be, if Tanebi decided to spare her life.


	2. Fed Up

Tanebi

Chapter 2: Fed Up

Welcome Back to Tanebi Version 2.0. Right now I'm uncertain as to whether I am going to keep the review answers or not, so what I'll do is just keep the 1.0 reviews up.

TGMaker: Thanks a lot. I appreciate the support.

Zero Sakura Cross: I can also see this happening realistically. I mean it's obviously a different storyline but I feel that since I explained how it happened it made the storyline seem more realistic in a sense which is what I was going for.

Dbzgtfan2004: Ah yes this is an awesome pair. It's the way that I feel that the series will and should head.

About how I casted Fugaku, I'm not bashing him. I'm merely casting him as a tyrant. A greedy and power hungry tyrant. That too will have a very negative effect on Sasuke, which you will see here in this chapter. Once again it's not quite in the bashing category but I'm coming very close. There's a fine line between creating a villain and bashing and I think I'm treading a bit too close for comfort. So in the next couple of chapters I may tone it down.

I don't own Naruto or R.O.D their respective owners do.

...

The day of the exams had finally happened and Sakura couldn't wait to get things going. They all walked into the academy for the initial meeting for the exams. Before they could make their way up however, they noticed a team with the same sign as Ruto's team being stopped from entering the room along with a large group of gennin. It was a team of two girls but the third was nowhere to be found. The first girl wore a white coat and purple pants. She had pale lavender eyes which team seven was able to identify her as one of the traitorous Hyuuga. Right behind her was another girl with her hair tied up into buns. She had a pink shirt that left her arms exposed and black shinobi pants.

"It's a Hyuuga." Sasuke hissed. "What in the world are traitors like them doing in this village?"

"Sasuke-kun, I heard from an Tanebi shinobi that they engage in dealings with the Hyuuga clan. It only seems natural that a few of them would join their ninja ranks."

Sasuke was not satisfied with that and walked up to the group of gennin being blocked. "Hey Hyuuga, if you were any good at all then you'd know that this is a genjutsu. So why not take yourselves out of the village and go back to where you belong?"

The bun-haired girl was not happy with the way that this person insulted her friend. "Of course we knew that you moron. We tried to make ourselves seem weak by making a diversion and then slip up to the next floor. Who the hell do you think you are anyway?"

"It's Sasuke Uchiha, son of the hokage. If you're smart you'll watch your mouth around me or end up in some difficult situations."

"So you're an Uchiha huh. Tayuya's comments about you didn't do you justice. You're a much bigger shitwad then she said you were." Replied the bun haired girl.

"How dare you talk to Sasuke-kun like that? He's the hokage's son for crying out loud. You can never even think about talking to him like that." Sakura responded

"Please he could never take Neji or Ruto. Both of them are far superior to the person standing right in front of you. You'd need years of training just to even stand a chance."

"Tenten, that's enough." Said a calm voice. Into view came another Hyuuga, this time it was a male with long black hair and white battle robes. "You made a point. Let's take care of these guys in the exams."

"Another disgraceful Hyuuga stepping foot in the same place you betrayed. You'd best leave now, because if I see you in the exams, I'll kill you." Sasuke told the other gennin.

What Sasuke failed to notice was Lucien appearing through the floor and held a kunai to Sasuke's throat. Behind him, Ruto and Tayuya also appeared. Sakura and Kiba were stunned.

"Word of advice Uchiha," Neji began, "don't mess with any of us. We're way out of your league." Lucien removed the kunai from Sasuke's neck, but Sasuke tried a sneak attack on the boy. He tried to punch him in the face but his fist passed right through Lucien's head. He then walked right through Sasuke's body and stuck a senbon in his back. Sasuke dropped to the ground in pain.

"What did you do Sasuke-kun?" Sakura shouted. She noticed that his pulse was starting to raise and using her basic medical skills, noticed that his pulse was rising and his chakra levels were decreasing. That could only mean that the senbon that was just impaled into Sasuke's back was poisoned. She did everything she could to remove the senbon, but poison was beyond her abilities. After all, she was a genjutsu mistress and not a field medic.

"Two things. One, poison Sasuke with a chakra siphoner. It basically gets into the body and eliminates all use of chakra for about five minutes. Two, prove a point. Underestimating any of us would prove to be a fatal mistake no matter how good you are." Lucien said as Sakura took out a kunai and stared at the competition.

"Sakura, let's take Sasuke and get out of here. It's six against one and we're outmatched. If we continue to fight we'll lose and get eliminated from the exams. It's best to wait and pick our fights." Kiba implored. Reluctantly Sakura agreed and put her kunai away.

The three trudged their way up the stairs and onto the third floor where the exams would take place. By the time the team got up the stairs, Sasuke was able to collect chakra again and walk under his own power. They were stopped at the door by Kuranai.

"Well, you all decided to take the exams after all. Congratulations. Oh my, what happened to you guys? Sakura you got blood on your hands and Sasuke's got some on his back."

"I don't want to talk about it." Sasuke said.

"Another team came by and Sasuke pissed them off. They retaliated and Sasuke got hurt." Kiba told her.

"Mind your own business Kiba." Sasuke snapped. "It is a matter between me and those Hyuuga. If you had any loyalty to Konoha you would have tried to fight them alongside me."

"Yes because it's very smart to fight six Tanebi shinobi with unknown abilities while we only have three, no wait you were out of commission, that means it was six on two."

"Kiba, that's uncalled for. Sasuke-kun's right about this one. We should have helped him fight off those Hyuuga."

"Enough you three. It's acts like that that made me unwilling to nominate you for the exams in the first place. Now look, there are tons of shinobi in there and you hardly know any of them. Each of you individually need to be at the top of your game if you hope to win. Sasuke, your status means nothing here. State yourself as hokage-sama's child and you'll have more enemies then you can name. Sakura, you need to look after both of your teammates then ever. As the main support unit of the group you need to be the most aware. Kiba, make sure that Sakura's covered at all times."

"It was a lucky shot and it won't happen again." Sasuke growled out as he roughly shook Sakura's helping arm off his shoulders.

Team seven took their sensei's words to heart and entered the doors to get inside the exam room. Immediately their presence was noticed as a huge wave of killer intent was directed right at them. Sasuke released a lot himself but it paled in comparison to the intent by every other gennin in the room. In fact now there was more directed at them then ever before. They were soon met by two of their classmates Ino Yamanaka and Shino Aburame. Next to them was a taller gennin dressed in green spandex and had huge eyebrows.

"Oh Kami, Sasuke-kun you're bleeding. Forehead, mutt boy, how could you let this happen."

"Sasuke over here picked a fight with a group of ninja from that new village Tanebi. They kicked his ass pretty good." Kiba replied smiling.

"Kiba, I told you to stay out of it. Mention it to one more person and I'll see to it that you never take the exams ever again you got that?" Sasuke yelled at the canine shinobi.

"What are you threatening me now Sasuke? Do you want to take the exams short a person? What do you think will happen if you encounter those Tanebi ninja again huh? What will you to, take them all at once? Cause you can't. Realize this Sasuke, you need me and Sakura or else you stand no chance at all in these exams."

"Shut up Kiba." Ino yelled. "Sasuke-kun is way good enough to pass these exams without anybody. He's the best in the village and the son of the hokage. Who else can stand a chance against someone like that?"

"Oh so we got a kage's kid in these exams huh? That makes everything much more interesting." A new ninja stepped into the picture. He was a Suna ninja dressed in a black cloak and had white face paint with purple stripes on them. On his back was a mysterous looking thing. Behind him was a girl with a purple dress that ended at her mid-thigh. Her blond hair was split into five pigtails. Also behind him was a boy with short red hair and the word love written on his forehead in kanji.

Right away, Sakura could sense the strength coming off these shinobi in defferent ways. The hooded shinobi wore a smirk on his face which Sakura could tell he was willing to back up. He carried himself in a similar way that Kiba did and Sakura knew how strong Kiba was. Somehow however, Sakura could tell that he was even stronger then Kiba. Next came the girl. She reminded Sakura a lot of the redhead Tayuya that she already met and that didn't fare good for Sakura. She could also tell that this was a serious gennin and her aura held a similar type that even her sensei did. Finally, cam the most frightening of them all, the redheaded boy. His eyes seemed to hold a duel content of extreme power or gentleness. She also could tell that this shinobi was maybe even stronger then Sasuke.

"Oh really? And just who are the three of you?" Sasuke asked.

"We're just your common everyday Suna nin. However, you'll find that we're also tough to take down." The shinobi in black mentioned.

"Why not just go back home anyway. We're way out of your league, whether you're the hokage's son or not." The girl said.

"A fight with the son of the hokage. That sounds interesting. I wonder if he's as strong as brother?" The redhead looked Sasuke up and down, studying him. "No brother's still stronger. But still you are interesting. I'll see you in the exams. Kankouro, Temari, let's go. Brother should be here too." Sakura was now very uncomfortable with this ninja. It was something about how he referred to Sasuke as interesting that made her even more wary of him then before. She also wondered about this 'brother' that he spoke of. Based on what he said, that could make another very powerful ninja in this exam.

"And if he's here, then that means that that girl that you like is here too eh Gaara?" Kankouro teased.

"Kankouro, don't make me hurt you."

"Well there's three more people who want to kill us in the exams. I think that the list now takes up about half of the people in this exam. Perfect." Kiba sighed.

"Stop complaining about it Kiba. Geez it's getting kind of annoying." Sakura said.

"Yeah and it's so refreshing to hear about the hokage's son every five seconds." Kiba mumbled.

"HEY YOU THREE!! No fighting in the exams or you'll be disqualified. I don't care who you are." Team seven was shocked and admitted an apology. "Good now, I've taken the liberty of designing a seating chart for the first exam. Find your places in one minute or fail." In a mad scramble for their position, Sakura ended up right next to Ruto. Sasuke was next to the male Hyuuga, and Kiba landed next to the red haired Suna ninja. Sakura took the leftover time to examine the proctor. He was a jonin and was built like one. He had scars on the sides of his face and a bandanna over the top of his head.

"Well nice seeing you again Sakura. Sorry about earlier but we're all pretty protective of Hinata-neechan."

"Is that the Hyuuga girl? She's dangerous, you know what clan she's from and what I told you about them right?"

"Yeah I know what the Hyuuga did, but when the Hyuuga defected from here, she wasn't even born yet. Neji himself was in diapers at the time as well. They had nothing to do with it so I don't hold them responsible."

"Wait, neechan? You mean that she's your sister? Does that make you Hyuuga as well?" Ruto laughed and once again it helped put her at ease. She realized the rediculousness of the question. She knew that Ruto's eyes were a piercing and beautiful blue and not the pale lavender like the Hyuuga did.

"No not at all. Hinata and I grew up together. She was one of my first friends so she's like a sister to me. Word of advice though, tell that douchebag teammate of yours not to insult her around the red haired Suna nin, else he may end up dead. The same with Neji."

"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!"

"Sorry, but I calls em like I sees em."

Ibiki then explained the rules of the exam which were simple. Every gennin starts with a perfect score and they get docked a point for every wrong answer and two points for each time they cheat. A score of one or better passes and the tests are team based so if one person falls, then the team falls as well. Sakura was a bit worried at this because Kiba was never really good on paper tests but his practical usage of skill was amazing.

The proctors passed out the exams and the exam begun. Sakura looked at the first question which was a very difficult cipher. She was barely able to figure it out, but even then it took her about three minutes to do so, but then again, this type of thing was her specialty outside of genjutsu. Looking at the next question, she found that the test got progressively harder, but was still able to figure out the answer by herself. _What's going on here? No way can regular gennin figure this stuff out. It's like they want us to cheat. With Sasuke-kun's sharingan I doubt that he'll have any trouble getting answers, but again Kiba's gonna be tough. _Sakura finished the exam in about a half hour, which was far longer then she'd ever spent on a written exam at the academy. When she was done, she looked over to Ruto and saw that he was leaning back in his chair just doing nothing. She looked at his paper to see that the entire thing was blank. Even the name, village, and squad number section was blank.

"Hey," Sakura whispered. "What are you doing? Do you want to fail?"

"No but trust me, I don't have to do anything to pass. Just watch and keep your paper guarded." Ruto whispered back.

Sakura was unsure of what was going on, but at the same time she was curious as to how he would pass without doing anything. After about three minutes, she saw a hand come up through the desk and switch Ruto's completely blank paper, with a paper that had every answer filled out. Ruto erased the name that was on the paper before putting his own name and squad number on it.

Sakura nearly squealed in screaming at seeing the hand appear from out of the desk, when she remembered something. She thought back to when Sasuke had insulted Hinata and his fist went right through the ninja's head, and then when he went right through Sasuke.

"Cool huh? As you already saw, that's Lucien's special ability. He can phase through anything. Ideal for a situation like this ne?"

"But are you just going to be satisfied with that? I mean couldn't you fail for something like that?"

"Not really. We get docked two points for each time we get caught. That means that with ten questions on the test, and two get docked, we still have seven points. As far as the accomplishment, I'm content with just passing this part. Look around you, how many people do you see actually solving the questions?"

She did as suggested and saw slight tricks that people were using. She saw Ino transfer into somebody elses body, Shino's bugs spelling out the answer's for their teammate, and even Kiba using Akamaru to get the answers. However, with people cheating, there were also numerous disqualifications. Teams were falling fast and now a quarter of the room had fallen. Sakura looked back to Ino, who was now leaning back in her chair and sitting comfortably when a hand came from under her desk and switched her paper with a fresh one. Sakura stifled a giggle knowing what just transpired. She scanned the room for Tayuya, Ruto's teammate, and sure enough the papers were switched. She also noticed that Tayuya gave him a small kiss on the cheek before he disappeared.

Sakura then put a genjutsu over herself and Ruto. After all, a half hour just sitting and waiting was kinda boring and she wanted to pass the time. She once again found out that Ruto was a very kind person and very easy to talk to. After talking with Ruto for a few minutes she heard a cry of "What the hell, my paper's blank," from Ino.

"Then get your answers again? Don't take your case against me got that?" Ibiki yelled. "Now yell out like that again and you fail."

That shut Ino up but she knew that time was getting short. Finally she saw Shino's bugs give her the answers and she reluctantly accepted the message in the bugs and copied the new answers.

In the jonin lounge, Kuranai was sitting down while constantly worrying about her students. A female friend of hers, Yuri came up to her.

"Hey, why are you so down? With your team, they should breeze through this exam no problem. They're a lock to pass."

"I'm not so sure. Individually yes they are probably the best team out there, but they won't work together at all. I don't think that they're ready for the next part. I didn't want them to compete at all but hokage-sama said that I need to let my team go, or lose my job as a jonin."

"Come on, I'm sure you're just being a worrywart as usual Kuranai. Their teamwork can't be so bad that the three best ninja from the academy would actually fail."

"There's a lot of promising prospects this year Yuri. A lot of them. Some of them may be even better then Sasuke with much better teamwork. All three of them don't get along. Sasuke won't take any orders or even advice from anyone. His father has him spoiled to the point of ineffective in a practical situation. Kiba hates Sasuke and refuses to take his orders, while Sakura, a great kunoichi in her own right, makes herself seem weak because she thinks that Sasuke will protect her. If a team targets Sasuke and takes him down, then the team will fall apart and be useless. They're not ready."

"Did you explain that to hokage-sama?"

"Of course I did. I expressed every concern I had about this team because they could die. Not only that but that new village scares me. They've got Hyuuga you know and I bet that they're well trained in all aspects."

"Hyuuga? Why would hokage-sama allow those traitors back into here after what they did?" Yuri responded.

"He didn't want them at all and took up any objections with the chunin exam alliance. They denied his request that they be barred from taking the exam because the Hyuuga have been silent for over seven years so their ninja record was cleared."

"I see. In that case I can understand your concerns. But Kuranai, you trained them and I think that you trained them much better then you thought that you did. They'll be fine, and if not then hokage-sama will understand that they tried their best."

"Or release me from the program as an instructor." Kuranai said.

"What do you mean?" Yuri wondered

"He said that this time with Sasuke would be my last. Either he passes the exams, or I'll be replaced with someone who will allow him to pass."

"That's horrible. I don't wish to speak ill of hokage-sama, but can he really show such a blatant act of favoritism?"

"He's the hokage. He can do whatever he wants. Unless the shinobi council is in complete agreement, he can do whatever he wants. With the power of the Uchiha clan also, there's no one who would be powerful enough to make him step down. Other then that, only the daimyo of the country has that authority. Favoritism it may be, but still there's nothing else that can be done."

Meanwhile the exams had gotten even more intense. Nearly half the room was gone and the final question was about to be announced. Sakura and Ruto were sitting nicely with their papers filled out. In that time, Sakura and Ruto were still talking and, more in Sakura's case, laughing at Ruto's report of the missions that their team had gone through. As time began to tick down, Sakura and Ruto decided that it would be better if Sakura dropped the genjutsu. For some unknown reason, Sakura really didn't want to drop it. She knew that she had to save her chakra, but at the same time she didn't want her time with Ruto to end so quickly.

"Pencils down. It's time for the tenth question to be announced. Before we do though I have a special condition for this question. If you don't wish to take it, then you can leave now and fail this portion of the exam automatically."

"What kind of condition is that? It makes everything we've done so far seem useless." Ruto asked.

"Because of the other condition of the question. If you take it and fail, you fail the exam and will be barred from ever taking the exam again." A pin could have fallen in the room before Sasuke stood up.

"That's a load of bull. My father could easily pull strings to get around that loophole."

Kiba smacked his forehead with his hand, knowing that they could probably add another three teams to the list of teams that want to kill them already.

"Your father doesn't run this exam or the conditions. The Alliance does. The Alliance gives me the power to create any condition I want for this exam and they have to follow through. This condition is far beyond your father's abilities."

Every gennin was again silent. The conditions of the final question weighed far heavy on the minds of everybody in the room. It was a good four minutes before the first gennin backed out. After that a flood of gennin began to quit. The room was now down to about 1/3 of the original people who started the exam.

_Quitting is no option for me. If I quit then Sasuke-kun will never talk to me ever again. But is Sasuke-kun really worth losing everything over? What am I saying of course he is. I don't know what to do._

Meanwhile Ruto was really looking at Sakura with concern. She had actually started crying because she couldn't decide. _I feel so bad for her but what can I do about it? If I do anything then my neck will be on the line. I know that I'm gonna pass because even if it's something that I can't handle, Lucien and neechan can cover for me so that I pass too. But her team is different. The Uchiha wouldn't cover her at all and I doubt that her other teammate could do anything about it if he wanted to. What would neechan do?_

Ruto knew that he had to act because he could see Sakura's hand start to raise. For some reason, he really didn't want this girl Sakura to fail. It didn't even have anything to do with his mission either. Quickly, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. She looked at him with tears streaming down her face. He knew that he had to calm her down somehow, so he let go of her wrist and held the back of her hand instead, while rubbing the back of her wrist with his thumb. It seemed to work as the girl now stopped crying and gave the other boy's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go.

Shortly after these thoughts, Tayuya slammed her hand down on the table. "That's a load of bullshit. I don't give a flying fuck what you say. I'm gonna pass this exam regardless of what your ass says. So give me the fuckin question or I'll castrate your ass right where you stand."

After this everybody got a stronger sense of resolve and offered to take the question. Even after Ibiki gave them a final chance to back out, nobody took it. He then told them that everyone in the room passed the exam. Ibiki proceeded to give a speech about gathering intelligence and how it is not only essential, but dangerous. He also told the group how the last question is a practical question on whether or not a person should continue a difficult mission that effects the entire team. At the end of the speech, a banner was tied to the board at the front of the room announcing the entrance of the second proctor, Anko Miterashi.

After a brief spat between Anko and Ibiki, they were all sent to the next site for the exams. The forest of death, a circular forest with a tower in the center. She met with her team after the first exam.

"Whew that's one down. Now we got the next one." Sakura said, wiping the sweat off of her brow.

"Hey Kiba, you didn't think about quitting during that final question did you?" Sasuke asked".

"What the hell man? What kind of question is that? We passed didn't we? Isn't that all that matters?"

"So you did think about quitting."

"I thought about it, but I figured that with Sakura's intelligence and your abilities then we'd be ok in the end."

"Well good because that's the second time that you nearly cost me in these exams."

"Oh really, and what was the first one?"

"The first was when you picked a fight with me before the first exam started. If you had simply listened to me like you were supposed to, then the incident would have never happened." Sasuke yelled/

"And you blame me? Just how thick is your head anyway. I'm getting so damn sick of your superior attitude you know that. Always thinking that because your dad's hokage, then that makes everybody else inferior to you."

"That's what you don't get Kiba. Everybody IS inferior to me. Uchiha are born leaders and superior to everyone else. As such, the peons in life such as yourself should quit acting like bitches and get along with it. Everyone else gets it Kiba, you don't."

"That's total and absolute bullshit. The only reason that your dad is even hokage in the first place is because he manipulated the system. You know, after seeing the way that your father runs this place, I don't even blame the Hyuuga for leaving in the first place."

Sasuke then attacked Kiba right in the face and hit him across the landscape before activating his sharingan. He then again ran after Kiba this time with a kunai drawn, but before he could impale Kiba with it, Akamaru, Kiba's dog bit Sasuke in the wrist drawing blood. Sasuke took his other hand and drew a kunai in an attempt to kill Akamaru, but before that could happen, Anko grabbed Sasuke by the other wrist.

"What the hell is going here you two?" Anko yelled.

"I'll tell you what's going on. I'm tired of this guy. He treats both me and my teammate like shit and tells us how superior he is to us. Well you know Sasuke, if you're so superior to me then take on the rest of the exams by yourself. I quit."

"Good. You know what, you did nothing but slow me down anyway so good riddance you flee bitten mutt. Oh sorry you're not a mutt, you're a bitch."

Anko had to interrupt again before Kiba and Sasuke would continue the attack. "That's enough. Sasuke, without a third teammate, you're disqualified from the exam."

"But how is that fair? Kiba wants to act like the bitch he his so now I have to suffer for it."

"As team captain you have to be responsible for their actions. He quit because you failed as a captain to make peace and act superior. Therefore you fail so get out."

"Anko could you please come here for a moment? It's important." One of the chunin proctors called over to her.

_I don't understand. Is Kiba that jealous at Sasuke, that he had to pick another fight with him?_

_**What are you talking about? Look I love Sasuke-kun as much as you do but we both think that he went too far. **_

_I know but still. I know that I love him and since I do love him then that means that I always have to agree with him._

_**What kind of attitude is that? You're parents love each other dearly and yet they argue and fight all the time. Sasuke-kun would probably like you more if you simply told him so.**_

_No, Sasuke-kun never hears no. If I want to compete with those other girls then I don't stand a chance with Sasuke-kun._

After a few minutes of discussion, Anko looked pissed. She then went over to some of the other teams and talked to them until she reached Ino's team. She heard a squeal from Ino and Anko just shook her head after that. She then went up to team seven.

"Here's the deal. It says in the rules that in the event one team member is unsatisfied with their team and they break up before the second exam, a trade can be found if both parties agree. Kiba agreed to trade to any team that didn't have Sasuke and so we looked for a team that was willing to trade and Ino Yamanaka agreed. Therefore, for the remainder of this exam, Ino Yamanaka is a part of team seven and Kiba Inuzuka is a member of team eight."

Looking back in time, Sakura realized that this event was the first sign of what Sasuke would do. He always thought himself as better then everyone else. His goals were more important then his teammate's lives. She shouldn't have been surprised to hear about what Sasuke did to her.

He trashed Kiba to the point to where he was willing to throw his career away just to get away from Sasuke while she would give anything just to get closer to him. Here she was years later, getting exactly what Kiba wanted. Now it was also exactly what she wanted as well.

...

Yikes. I didn't plan on treating Sasuke like that, I really didn't but I guess it happens. I do have reasoning for that however. In the manga, Sasuke was given a lot, but Sarutobi was fair in the way that he was treated. If you can see, I put some things that I would have expected Neji to say. Stuff about how he was born greater. With a village of no Hyuuga and only Uchiha, and a hokage as a father, I feel that Sasuke would also develop these traits.

Now some may ask just what the Alliance is. It's like the shinobi version of the UN. They are the ones that regulate peace treaties and run the chunin exams among other things. So that's the Alliance.

Nothing to do with this story but expect the next chapter of F, W, and V up a bit ahead of schedule so that's something to look forward to. I'm thinking maybe Wednesday or Thursday depending on how much I get done on tomorrow.

Sasuke is strong in this. Far stronger then some may think that I made him. I know he looked weak against Lucien, but he got in a surprise attack and had the edge.

I feel that Tayuya could also give a Naruto-esque speech. And I chose her because, hey it's never been done before.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: A Forest Gauntlet

Please Review.


	3. A Forest Gauntlet

Tanebi

Chapter 3: Gauntlet in the Forest

A good turnout for the last chapter I must say. So before I begin let me get to the reviews that I love so much.

Kaiser Spartan: Don't worry Sasuke will get his, but keep in mind that he will be more powerful here then in the manga at this point. He will get his though.

Zero Sakura Cross: Well if you do send him, which I don't recommend, I mean I need a villain, send him to 4 kids. Don't want him screwing up Mythbusters. As far as how many points they get this chapter will only rise.

Wind797: Thank you so much for the information. As you can see, I changed the title name.

I don't own Naruto or R.O.D. Their owners do.

...

The siren sounded and team seven entered into the forest. Ino had only been with the team for about a half hour, and already she was driving Sakura crazy with her attempts to take Sasuke for herself. The two spent so much time arguing over the boy, that they attracted enough attention for a gennin from Rain. Sasuke though was easily able to fend off the attack, but he didn't have a scroll on him and acted alone.

They ran through the forest for another hour, before another gennin tried a solo assault. Once again Sasuke was able to deal with the problem single handedly. After another hour, another gennin tried an attack, and it was starting to frustrate the team.

"What's going on? That's the third attack that I had to take care of in the last three hours. Why don't these maggots get that I am the top of the class?"

"Probably because of that baka Kiba. Knowing him, he told everyone where our gate was and had teams try to take us down. He's so classless like that." Ino said.

"Even so, they keep coming. The three ninja that we took care of were all from the same village. Ame. There's a chance, that they are trying to wear us down and take us when we get tired." Sakura thought.

"What's this we business forehead? Sasuke-kun's been doing all the work so far in this exam and you've done absolutely nothing. Why don't you pull your own forehead for once and do some work?" Ino berated at Sakura.

"In case you haven't noticed yet pig, you've done nothing either. In fact, you weren't even a part of this team to begin with. You should thank Kiba that he did give up his spot to you because frankly, you don't even deserve to be this close to Sasuke-kun."

"It's both of you." Sasuke yelled. "The reason that we keep getting attacked, is because the two of you keep yelling and jawing at each other, that pests keep on attacking us. Maybe if the two of you would shut up and get down to business, then we wouldn't have to deal with every maggot that hears the two of you!"

"Will all three of you be quiet? You're starting to give me a headache and that's just too troublesome to deal with at the moment." All three of them turned around to see three Tanebi ninja drop into the clearing. One of them was a male whose hair was tied up in a ponytail that looked eerily like a pineapple. The second was a big-boned male, and that's putting it nicely. The final was a girl with long black hair and military camouflage pants.

"And just who are you three?" Sasuke ordered.

"Man don't be so troublesome. You're really starting to bum me out." The pony tailed ninja said.

"Easy Shika, we're doing this for scouting you know." Replied the big boned ninja.

"I said tell me your names. When I tell you to do something I expect you do do it." Sasuke ordered.

"Wow what an ass. Geez no wonder Tay was so pissed after she met this guy." The girl spoke.

"Hey you can't talk about Sasuke-kun like that. Do you even know who he is? If so then you'd better watch what you say." Ino quipped.

"I told you this would be troublesome guys. I say we just leave and not get mixed up with them. It's way more trouble then it's worth. Come on Kin, Choji, let's get out of here."

Before they could leave however, Sasuke lunged at the leader with a kunai drawn. Right before he could hit with the attack however, he suddenly stopped as if he got paralyzed by some kind of unknown force. Sasuke struggled and struggled but could not seem to break free from the bind that he was now in. Ino's eyes widened. She knew from stories that her father told her, just who this ninja was and what abilities they had.

"I don't believe it. It's it's a Nara." Ino said shocked.

"What? You mean one of the clans that defected a long time ago? Why did they defect, and what is he doing with Sasuke-kun?"

"They use shadows to bind one's movements. Once you're caught in their shadow, then it's all over." Ino looked down to see another shadow coming towards her and one more for Sakura. Ino jumped out of the way before giving a warning to Sakura. "Hey forehead, watch your feet. Don't get caught in the shadows." After that, Sakura too lept out of the way. Team seven knew now that they were caught right in the middle of a dogfight and a disadvantageous situation.

Meanwhile Anko was still fuming about the situation right before the exam began. Situations like the one with team seven were commonplace. People have given up on their team and nobody lifts a finger to stop them. Yet now, they were bending over backwards to help Sasuke.

Anko knew that other nations were watching the exam. From their angle, it looked as if Konoha was favoring a certain shinobi. It was no coincidence that the shinobi in question here was the son of the hokage. If they decided to protest the exams, it would look terrible for Konoha and actions may be taken. What the other proctors didn't know was the consequences that could happen if they were found guilty. Konoha could, in the worst case, be suspended from the exams for up to three exams and never host the exams ever again.

Right now, she was looking for their sensei, Kuranai. It seemed odd that her friend would pass a team with such terrible teamwork and attitude. She was the type of person that wouldn't pass a team along until she was completely sure that they could pass. Maybe, she assumed, that she too was blinded by the talent of the heir to the hokage. Nonetheless, she looked and found Kuranai in the jonin lounge worried as hell.

"Hey what's with you Kuranai? Why on earth would you pass a team that gets into a fight right before the second exam starts?" Anko yelled.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Sasuke Uchiha. He picked a fight with his teammate Kiba and then he quit right there before the exam started."

"So they got disqualified then? I guess it's for the best that they didn't enter part two. There's no way with their pathetic teamwork that they'd pass anyway."

"Wait, if you knew that they weren't ready, then why did you recommend them for the exams?"

"I was forced to. Hokage-sama said that Sasuke would participate regardless of what I say. He also said that if Sasuke didn't pass, then he'd replace me with an instructor who could get them to pass."

"That's horrible. With everything going on in these exams so far, I'd be amazed if nobody else launched a formal protest on these exams. We already broke a rule by trading your gennin with another one. If any other nation finds out about it, we could be in real trouble."

"I never thought about that. We're in some deep shit aren't we?"

"We could be yes."

"By the way, what kind of gennin would willingly leave their team right before the second exam? I mean to abandon their own team is a stupid move." Kuranai wondered.

"It's a fan girl. She squealed at the chance to be on a team with the hokage's son. Personally I'd be surprised if they made it out of the forest alive."

"The first battle will be their toughest. If they can pull out a win against their first real team, then maybe, just maybe, they can get out of the forest. If they fail in their first battle, then tempers may run high. And with Sasuke's ego, and two fan girls in a single group, things may get really ugly."

Team seven was struggling heavily. Sasuke was still trying to break out of the prison that bound him up and struggled to break free. Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino were consistently barely dodging all the shadow attacks. As of yet, they hadn't seen what the other two could do, but they had to figure something out. Sakura needed time to get her genjutsu set up, but if she stopped, then she would easily get caught by the shadow.

It was times like this where she missed Kiba. Kiba would have attacked the gennin and allowed her the time that she needed. Ino, she assumed, had Shino and the green guy to cover her back. With two supports and a combat out of commission, this fight was starting to look impossible. Sakura noticed then some senbon attached to bells coming at her, and she was barely able to dodge. Ino was not faring better, as the chubby gennin had expanded his body and flattened Ino like a pancake, leaving Sakura in a virtual three on one scenario.

She then noticed a small distortion in her body. Her vision had begun to impair which was a key sign that she was caught in a genjutsu. It was a powerful one too. Using all of her concentration, she was able to break out of the genjutsu, just for the huge ball of a gennin to run over her knocking her cold. It was now Sasuke vs. the entire team. Still struggling against the shadow, Sasuke found himself surrounded by the team of Tanebi shinobi.

"It's troublesome. Just give us the scroll and let us leave before we have to waste anymore time here. This forest is way too troublesome."

"Hah, do you think that an Uchiha like myself would give up against traitorous scum such as yourself Nara?"

"Fine, fine, geez this is so troublesome. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way after all. Kin, Choji now." Still under the control of the shadow, Sasuke could only watch as a senbon headed right for him. The shadow released itself from him, but still he couldn't avoid the senbon thrown. It hit Sasuke, and he noticed something was odd. His sharingan was immediately shut off and he was trapped in the same genjutsu that Sakura was caught in.

"Are you familiar with our special chakra poison? It negates all chakra in your body for exactly five minutes. Also, without your sharingan active, there's no way to get out of the genjutsu." Kin, the female gennin told him. He could only sit by and watch as he too got ran over by the giant meat tank knocking him out.

"Should have listened to me. But no, he had to make everything all troublesome and shit. Kin search him for the scroll. He has to have it." After a while of searching, Kin finally found what she looking for. It was a Heaven Scroll.

"Found it. And it's one we need too. Looks like we're done with this stage so long as we can hold onto them."

"Well then I guess this battle wasn't all that troublesome after all." Shikamaru yawned. "Come on, let's get out of here." The team from Tanebi walked away from the battle leaving a beaten team seven behind.

It was a few hours before Ino woke up. She was the first one taken out and searched around for her new team. She just couldn't believe that she had just fought not only a Nara, but also an Akimichi. For her, who heard stories about the traitorous clans that walked out on Konoha but used to be on a team with her father, was a bit overwhelming.

She knew though, that she couldn't dwell on the past and decided to look for Sakura and Sasuke. Following the carnage that was left in the wake of the huge tank, she walked and came upon the unconscious and bruised body of Sakura. She saw that the meat tank took off in another direction, and that meant that he had gone after Sasuke. _So forehead here obviously was hit with the same thing that I was. That trail then must lead to Sasuke-kun. I bet he took care of those guys. He had to, I mean nobody could ever take Sasuke-kun down. Well let me get forehead here over to him so we can enter the tower and pass the exam._

She was not prepared however for what she saw at the end of the trail left by the tank. Sasuke laid on the ground completely unconscious and bruised worse then she or Sakura had been. Immediately, she dropped Sakura on the ground and ran over to the boy. The first thing that she did was check for a pulse and when she did find one she sighed in relief. _So he's alive, but he lost. How could those ninja have been strong enough to take Sasuke-kun down though? There's always a chance that he took them out and then took a nap, but that wouldn't explain why his shirt is so messed up and his supplies are everywhere._ Ino's eyes snapped open as she realized just why everything was messed up. The team had taken their scroll for them needing to pass this stage of the exam.

Sakura woke up after feeling herself hit the ground in a thud. The first thing that she saw when she opened her eyes, was Ino checking over Sasuke. It too clicked in Sakura's mind that they had been defeated by the team. Looking at Sasuke's stuff scattered about, it seemed natural that their scroll had been pillaged. Groaning, Sakura lifted herself up and staggered over to where Sasuke lay unconscious.

"Forehead, you're up. How are you feeling?" It seemed odd to Sakura. For years, the two had been at each others throats trying to win over the Uchiha child. It was probably the nicest thing said between the two in years.

"Like shit pig. I don't know what hit me but it hurt worse then Kiba's Gatsuuga attack. How are you feeling?"

"Not quite as bad as you or Sasuke-kun. It looks like I was the first down by following the path of destruction left by the attack. Looking at the mess, I'd say that our scroll is gone." Ino told her, depressed.

"It could be worse Ino. It could be a lot worse. They decided to not finish the job and kill us which they could have easily. Instead, they left all of us alive."

"True, but Sasuke-kun is going to be so mad when he gets up. I mean, the scroll is gone."

"WHAT!!" Sasuke roared. Ino and Sakura screeched as they didn't know that the Uchiha boy was up. He patted down his clothes in a desperate search for the scroll but couldn't seem to find it at all. "What. Happened. To. The. Scroll?"

"I don't know Sasuke-kun honest. I woke up after being knocked out ans saw you sprawled out unconscious." Ino cried.

"Same here Sasuke-kun. When we woke up the scroll was gone."

"And just where were you two anyway? Why weren't you there when I was surrounded?" Sasuke shouted. Ino and Sakura both told their tales of the battle that they were in to Sasuke, who was clearly angry at them.

"So, are you mad at us Sasuke-kun for failing you?" Ino cried.

"I'm disappointed in the fact that you both couldn't hold your own against them. But who I'm pissed off at is Kiba. If he hadn't of been such a bitch and quit on us at the worst possible time. If he had been in our offense instead of Ino, then he would have actually been able to give Sakura time to cast her genjutsu. That bitch is going to pay for this."

"Well the enemy did what they wanted to. Separate us. Pig and I were separated early and fell right into the trap that they laid out for us. If we're going to get a set of scrolls, then we need to work together and get to know how Ino can work her way into us."

"No. You two have done enough damage for one part of the exam. If we get into a fight just stay back and let me handle it. Kami help me if the two of you get in my way one more time. Come on, let's go and don't slow me down." Afterwards, Sasuke took off into the forest leaving Ino and Sakura behind.

Ino for her part, looked like she was about to cry. Sasuke, the "love of her life," had in a nutshell called her worthless. Sakura wasn't faring much better then Ino was, but regardless, they still ran after Sasuke.

"Hey pig don't worry about it. The only reason that Sasuke-kun talked to us like that, was because he was mad at Kiba. He really didn't mean what he said, I'm sure of it."

"I know forehead, but still, we let Sasuke-kun down terribly. I mean after everything that just happened, would you actually think that Sasuke-kun would forgive us? We let him down."

"But the thing is pig, there's probably still more to the chunin exams. If we do well there, then Sasuke-kun will forget everything that happened. You'll see, Sasuke-kun can be very forgiving and sweet when he wants to be."

As Sakura said that, she noticed that Ino had calmed down quite a bit. No longer did she look like she wanted to cry and instead got up the courage and strength to catch back up with Sasuke leaving Sakura in the back to think. She herself really didn't believe in what she said though. She wanted too, but as she spoke she truly could believe a single word that she said about Sasuke.

Team seven had traveled for three days in the forest without seeing another team and Sasuke was getting very angry and frustrated with every passing day. The more that they searched for a squad, the less that they found and by their estimation, the final day was approaching and Sasuke was getting livid.

"Damn bitch Kiba. If he were here, then we would have found somebody by now, and we're approaching the last day."

"Maybe if we head towards the tower ..." Ino started.

"Shut up Ino. I told you to not get in my way, and you're coming close to doing so. Now just sit back and do as you're told like you're supposed to." Sasuke snapped. Ino couldn't take it and left the area crying while Sakura ran after her. "Worthless. Both of them." Sasuke muttered.

Meanwhile, Sakura had been chasing after the poor Ino for a couple of minutes while trying to console her. She didn't agree at all with what Sasuke just yelled at Ino, but she knew for a fact that it was just Sasuke's anger talking. She knew that inside Sasuke was good and pure at the core. She just knew it.

"Hey Ino, don't be too mad at what Sasuke-kun just said. You know that he can just lash out at times when he gets mad like that. Trust me, he did it with Kiba all the time. Hell he's even yelled at me like that before. Don't let it get you down ok?"

"How? He treats you like this too? Is this the same way he talked to Kiba as well?" Ino sniffled. "How Sakura, how can you still see the good in Sasuke despite how he treats you?"

"Because Ino, he's the son of the hokage. He has to act like that to keep up appearances. He has to act like he's bored or else people won't see him as a future leader for our people. It's all just one elaborate act Ino."

Once again, Sakura's words and vote of confidence gave Ino the lift in attitude that she needed and was able to once again, stop crying and think positively, but Sakura was not so sure. In fact, the more Sakura spoke, the more disgusted she felt with herself for saying those things. It was as if some inner force wanted to to vomit just for saying such atrocities. At the same time, Sakura wanted so desparately for that fact to be true, that it was able to almost cancel her doubts.

"Have you ever seen it?" Sakura looked surprised and looked up to see Ruto sitting on the branch of the tree. On the tree next to him was Tayuya with her head rested on Lucien's shoulder. "So, have you ever seen Sasuke treat you or even anyone with an act of kindness?"

"Well, no I've never seen it, but I just know that it's the way things are." Sakura said.

"Based on what, status, power, you tell me Sakura? Both me and my sister are the children of the Tanebi Oyabun and yet we never treat people the way Sasuke treats his teammates. Never."

"Well, things are run differently here then in Tanebi." Ino responded. "Sasuke-kun has to keep the people satisfied in the strength of our government."

"What a load of shit." Tayuya responded. "Let me give you some intel bimbo, Konoha had about forty percent of the total applicants in the exam total. Yet, at this point, only one team from Konoha has finished so far."

"So, what does that prove? I mean the fact that we had forty percent of the applicants proves that Konoha is a more powerful village." Ino yelled back.

"No what it means is that the shinobi you throw in the exam are all piles of shit." Tayuya responded. "No way in hell, that a village full of quality shinobi should ever have that many fail the exam."

"Oh and you think that Tanebi is that much better?" Ino fired.

"Actually, Tanebi has sent three teams and all of them passed the second phase. At least two passed before the third was ambushed after they passed and had to pull out." Lucien responded. "As of right now, all three of us are incredibly upset with this village and the hokage." Even though he said that he was angry, he still spoke with an even tone.

"Wait, what do you mean attacked?" Sakura responded.

"I suppose the info wouldn't hurt. Team Hyuuga finished the exam in fourteen hours and twenty-five minutes. One day later, a squad of four chunin broke into the room and severely injured one Hinata Hyuuga. The injuries sustained convinced our leader to officially pull team Hyuuga out of the exams. After an interrogation performed by our sensei, along with the sensei of team Hyuuga, reports state that the attack was ordered by the hokage himself." Lucien spoke. For the first time ever, Sakura could feel the rage coming from all three members of the village, even the normally calmed and evenly spoken Lucien seemed to be boiling over with rage.

"Well maybe those traitors should not have entered this exam then? I mean a person can't betray their own village and expect to get through it untouched." Ino responded.

"As I may have told Sakura, and now I'll tell you too blondy. When the Hyuuga defected Hinata wasn't even born yet. How should she suffer for anything?" Ruto yelled at Ino. "What did she do huh? Tell me what she did?"

Ino was stunned silent by the words spoken by the boy. It never occurred to her ever that some of the Hyuuga were not even around. They had always been told that all Hyuuga were pure evil, monsters who supported an even bigger monster.

Children are always told of villains. That all villains were cold and emotionless killers who had no good attributes. Yet it now dawned on the two girls for the first time, that the line between good and evil was not as wide as they thought.

"You assholes know nothing about the Hyuuga at all. I'm getting sick of talking to these two. Hey niisan, just throw them the package from Shika so we can get out of here. I want to get back to the tower as soon as possible."

"What package? And what do you mean get back to the tower? Were you already there or something?" Ino asked.

"Duh bimbo? We have a delivery for you from Shika. It's a scroll identical to the one that they took from you before. We had a spare and wanted to help you out. Better be grateful bimbo." Tayuya said.

Ruto then took out the scroll and put it in Sakura's hands himeslf. She looked astonished that a team form Tanebi would help out a Konoha team. "Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because at this stage of the exam you'll never find a set. You see, seven of the sets are already out of play. Meanwhile Neji and my team was able to collect two duplicates not including the one I gave Shika leaving five sets. Also, reports include that the Suna team that passed collected another set taking the number down to four. The odds of you passing without our help are essentially zero." Lucien reported.

"As far as for why we're helping you, it's to send a message. We're going to prove to you and everyone else that we truly are the best. Also, we wish to expose the Uchiha for the teme that he is. It will be a joy to see this shithole see their beloved get sloughtered for everything that this village has done to us." Tayuya responded. Tayuya left along side Lucien leaving Ruto with Ino and Sakura.

"I'm sorry for them. But they are simply angry with Konoha right now. Here's more inside advice, if you ever fight the redhead from Suna, run like hell. He's pissed now because of what happened to Hinata." Ruto said.

"He is? Why would he care about a Hyuuga girl?" Sakura said. She now was also worried about this. She knew just how strong that gennin was and was deeply afraid of what he would to Sasuke.

"They may be from a different village, but at the same time, that distance can increase their feelings for each other. Fact is, he cares for her more deeply then even my two teammates do for each other." Ruto said. However, just before he left he turned around and gave Sakura and Ino a message. "They say the way a person acts at their worst is the closest measure to how they really are."

With that Ruto left, and Sakura and Ino left to rejoin with Sasuke. They had no idea just how far they had been separated from the Uchiha prince, but the walk back gave them time to ponder different things. Sakura was wondering just what Ruto meant, while Ino was now curious about Sakura and this new shinobi.

"Hey forehead? Just how do you know that team? I mean you and that boy seemed to know each other pretty well." Ino asked.

"Oh, well we kinda ran into them a couple of times. They're all really nice people actually and kinda nice to talk to. Well, except for that redhead anyway." Sakura responded.

"Yeah she seems to be quite the bitch alright. But still, I want to know, can we trust that guy? I mean, how do we know that the scroll that he gave us isn't some kind of fake jst so that we'll fail?"

"Ruto's not like that. He's been very genuine to this point and he's been a good friend throughout the exams. He helped me not to quit in the first exam. I don't think that he'll betray us now." Sakura responded. It really alarmed the pinkette as to how she felt more comfortable with Ruto then she even did Sasuke. She tried to shake it off, but it was a nagging voice in the back of her head. It left Ino even more curious about just how far Sakura and this new ninja knew each other, but Ino also knew that there was no was that Sakura would ever feel that this guy was better then Sasuke. They continued the walk in silence until they came upon a sight that scared them. They saw Sasuke panting heavily and the bodies of three Kiri ninja were scattered all over the ground. Sasuke turned to them and gave them the nastiest glare that he had with his Sharingan active.

"And where the hell were the two of you? I had to take on a team from Kiri alone because the two of you couldn't manage to keep your damn emotions in check."

"Sorry Sasuke-kun but we were attacked as well. We managed to fight them off and get their Heaven Scroll so that we could pass the second exam." Sakura told him before giving the scroll to Sasuke.

"Well then I guess that the two of you aren't as worthless as I had thought. Oh well, let's get out of this dreadful forest."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino were so glad to obtain a set of scrolls that they failed to notice the scene behind them after they left. The bodies of the Kiri shinobi changed their appearance after a short while, and in their place were three mummified golems. After it had been established that Sasuke's team had gone, Ruto, Tayuya, and Lucien dropped into the clearing as well.

"It looks like part one of our mission was a complete success." Lucien said. "This battle here showed me just where Sasuke was as far as power. To be honest, I didn't know if he could beat all three at the same time. But I guess when you battle the son of the hokage, you can expect to be surprised."

"Yeah but still, I wasn't impressed as much." Ruto said. "I mean he had a really tough time taking down my kage-bunshin earlier on in the forest and Shikamaru did a number on them. It's like his huge pride gets in the way of his trust, which in turn makes him appear to be much weaker then he really is. She deserves better." After he said that, Lucien and Tayuya gave Ruto a very quizzical look and Ruto knew that is not something that he meant to say.

"Regardless, we've collected all the info that we need. Now we just need to publicly bring him down and show those Uchiha bastards just who they're messing with." Tayuya said grinning as her grin was shared by both of her teammates.

Looking back on her life, Sakura felt that the comments spoken by Sasuke that day were the nicest things that were ever spoken to her. Also, now she understood exactly what Ruto's cryptic message was that he was trying to say. Sasuke at his worst was what he truly felt and was. Too bad she couldn't redo that part of her life.

...

Well Sasuke got a bit of his this chapter by the Kin Shika Cho combo. Personally, I like what I did with this team.

Also, as I said, Fugaku is a complete tyrant with no regard for rules or the law. In his eyes, the laws don't apply to him. That explains the shady behavior in the exams to this point.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading Tanebi.

Next chapter: Revenge of the Red-head Gaara

Please review.


	4. Gaara's Rage

Tanebi

Chapter 4: Gaara's Rage and the Cerebral Assassin

Welcome back everybody. Alright let's get to the reviews.

Krymsom: Thanks a ton. I hope that I continue to impress

Draklin: It's not really that she's oblivious, but more that she's in a permanent denile. Regardless, glad that you like.

Wind797: Yeah you're going to see an angry Gaara alright. He's not really going to kill, because he'll be more together, but you'll see the rage right here.

Zero Sakura Cross: I hear you. As tyrants they are serving their purpose by making you mad. Sasuke will get it. Oh will he get it. As far as the Mythbusters debate, would you want to risk it?

Ledintoke: Thanks a lot. Hope you like what I'm planning.

Kaiser Spartan: He won't kill him. But a message will be sent.

I don't own Naruto.

...

Team seven traveled for about half of a day before they came up and entered the tower where they unrolled their scrolls and Kuranai popped out. "Well done you three. After I heard about Kiba, I was wondering if you would even pass at all, and it seems you have. Well done."

"Hn. As if I would fail this part of the exam because of the bitch. I'm far better then losing here. Are we the first ones to pass?"

"No. Actually, several teams have passed before you. Some of them even broke the record for all time performance. But it's great that you didn't encounter any trouble."

"Uchiha never sturggle Kuranai. You should know that."

Kuranai wanted to beat this boy into the ground. She really did but for her it would be more trouble then it was worth. After all, this would probably be the final time she'd have to put up with him anyway. "Anyway, come on. I'll take you to the lounge, where you'll wait for the third part of the exams."

Kuranai did as she said she would and took them to the lounge where Kiba's team was there talking to the three ninja that took Sasuke's scroll in the first exam.

"Well well, the superior Uchiha made it. It only took, what three four days. Impressive."

"Shut up bitch." Sasuke yelled. "It was all your fault that it took so long. Because of your leaving us, Sakura had nobody to cover her and our dynamic was ruined."

"And yet, the others changed teams and passed after day one." Shikamaru said.

"You stay out of Konoha affairs. You will pay for what you did in the forest traitor."

"And you will pay for what your father did to Hinata." Kin entered.

"Wait, you mean that was true? Chunin really did attack them on the order of the hokage?" Sakura told them.

"Yeah. Mizuki-sensei was one of them. Iruka sensei was also a part of the attack and was the only chunin to survive." Kiba said somberly. "They left him alive because he confessed to the entire attack against her. Including the fact that the hokage himself ordered it. Now that red-haired sand ninja is running wild destroying everything breakable in sight."

This revelation make Sakura visably shake with fear. She had seen and felt the pure power and aura that the gennin from Suna had. She also knew that if he was truly running wild in a mad rampage, then anyone that would face him would be in trouble. She was so afraid of what may happen if Sasuke would be the wrong one to cross him. She knew that was entirely possible.

"Hn it was their fault anyway. Those traitors should never have come here. My father was completely justified. In fact, I think that he didn't do enough. I would have sent jonins to gut that Hyuuga inside out in front of all Tanebi to see." Sasuke said completely oblivious to the other gennin. However, Sasuke wasn't completely oblivious. He wanted them angry because an angry shinobi was more likely to make a huge mistake.

Shino, Kiba, and Lee, the other gennin, had to hold the Tanebi team from killing Sasuke on the spot. Though, to be honest, Kiba wanted to release them.

"What is going on with you three?" In walked another nin. This one had spiked grey hair with a Tanebi protector over his left eye. "Look, I know that you three are mad about Hinata, but still, attacking the hokage's son is not an option. You know how our leader would react to find out that the hokage's son had been killed outside of combat. Why not just take solstice in the fact that you beat them in a fight." He said as his visable eye formed a U-shape.

"Oh and who are you supposed to be huh?" Sasuke roared.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"How dare you ignore me?"

"Just stay out of trouble guys, alright?" With that he left the scene only leaving a puff of smoke in his place. The other team just took another look at Sasuke with a glare in their eyes before leaving as well.

Team seven just waited around after that, not encountering any more teams for the rest of the day. Each of them had been weary from the forest and took a well deserved rest. They were called for a meeting where the hokage himself announced what the next exam would encompass. But as they were lining up for the next exam, Sasuke saw someone that made his blood boil. There, with a Tanebi protector, was his own brother Itachi.

Sasuke quickly activated his sharingan, only to be stopped in the tracks by his older brother. He kicked Sasuke in the ribs, which broke them, and then stomped on him before turning to the hokage. "You had best teach your ninja not to act so hastily, hokage-sama. If any other of your people attack me again, I won't hesitate to kill them. You of all people should know that." Itachi said, without changing emotion.

"And you don't deserve to be here and neither does your team. In fact, without a team you can't even be here. ANBU, take him away." Fugaku ordered. With that, Itachi just laughed, as the ANBU surrounded him.

"Do you honestly think that a squad of ANBU scares me? I've grown exceptionally in Tanebi. Your ANBU don't stand a chance. I'll leave, but if any of these ANBU follow me, they die." With that, Itachi left the arena. A few of the ANBU followed him, only to be killed seconds later. Meanwhile, Fugaku was checking over Sasuke for injuries. He was cleared to compete by the medics. Of course as hokage, Fugaku had no part in clearing Sasuke at all.

After the commotion, Fugaku explained how the next stage would work. It was a tournament style combat where two opponents would battle until one loses. The winners of the first match-ups would advance to the finals, where the real judging would begin. The roulette started and Sakura was afraid of what she saw.

Sabuko no Gaara vs Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke for his part was clutching his ribs heavily and panting. He was clearly in no condition to fight. Sakura was scared. She identified Gaara as the red-haired sand ninja who was angry about what happened to Hinata. And for him, getting revenge on the hokage's son would definitely suffice. Ruto pulled Gaara aside and whispered something into his ear.

"Sasuke-kun please don't do this. You're not in any condition after that attack to fight with him." Sakura pleaded as she put her hands on Sasuke's shoulders.

"Back off. I will do no such thing. For the pride of my clan, I can't back out of this. Let me show him how much better I am then him." Sasuke told Sakura as he roughly shoved Sakura's hands away. He then pushed her roughly aside and gave her a look showing nothing but pure disgust. It was a glare even worse then the one that he gave her in the forest.

_This is bad. Sasuke-kun didn't get a chance to get his ribs healed and mended. If he tries to fight in this condition then he'll certainly ..._

"He's arrogent." Kiba said, coming up to her. "That arrogance is now about to bite him big time. Can't say that I feel sorry for him though."

"Hey Kiba, show some respect. I mean, do you really think that Sasuke deserves to fight this guy. This angry guy in the condition he's in?" Sakura cried.

"Keep this in mind Sakura. If Sasuke didn't attack that enemy shinobi, then he wouldn't be in the condition he's in at all." Ruto said, coming up to her. "He decided that he would fight Itachi-sensei and because of that, he's hurt and in a very dangerous situation."

"Is that Suna ninja really that dangerous?" Kiba wondered.

"Gaara, yeah he is. Let's put it this way, in his life there are only about five people that he tolerates. Two he likes, and one he REALLY likes."

"And let me guess, the one he really likes is the Hyuuga girl correct?" Ino said.

"Her name is Hinata and yes. Because of the way he grew up, he was alone. Everybody either feared or hated him. Hinata had no such fear. Her pure heart allowed her to befriend the poor child soon after we met him and freed him from a very dark place."

Meanwhile Sasuke stared down his grinning opponent. Gaara had on a smile that clearly meant destruction for his opponent, who just happened to be Sasuke. "So I face you right off the bat huh? Excellent. Hinata's attack will be avenged." Sasuke would have responded, but he was still very sore in the ribs and the first match was started.

Gaara started off by taking some sand from his gourd and sent it right at Sasuke. The sand came in and Sasuke was barely able to avoid it by jumping to the right. But after the dodge, he still, he clutched his ribs from the pain. Gaara sent another wave, but Sasuke dodged again.

Sakura could watch in horror as Sasuke was barely even able to breathe against this ninja, much less put up an offensive attack to counter the Suna ninja. At this rate, Sasuke would surely get crushed, but Sakura had faith that Sasuke would pull though somehow.

Seeing a small opening, Sasuke did the hand seals for the signature jutsu of the Uchiha clan. "Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu." Sakura watched with eagerness as a fireball came out and seemingly engulfed Gaara in a wall of fire. Sasuke fell down on one knee and tightly clutched his ribs, exhausted from the attack. Nonetheless, he and his father smirked as they were sure that did the trick.

"He did it! He won. Sasuke-kun is sooo awesome!" Ino screeched.

Sakura on the other hand knew otherwise. She knew just how strong this gennin was and that he wouldn't go down that easily. She also knew that Sasuke's famous fireball was severely lacking in its usual firepower because of the extensive damage done to his ribs.

"It's not over." Ruto entered.

"What are you talking about?" Ino entered. "Sasuke-kun's fireball is the strongest jutsu in Konoha. It's a symbol of the might of the Uchiha clan. There's no chance that the ninja is still standing."

"That jutsu was strong, but there's no way that it was strong enough." Ruto explained. Ino could only watch in horror as a wall of sand appeared from the smoke and fire. Gaara was unscathed. Not only that, but he was smiling. Sakura knew now that there was no way that Sasuke could win this fight. She only hoped that somehow Sasuke would survive.

"Is that all the mighty Uchiha clan has to offer? Pathetic."

"Don't be angry because us Uchiha were responsible for what happened to that pathetic traitor." Sasuke winced. He knew that in his condition, he had no chance to win. So what he had to do was anger the ninja and make him make a mistake.

Meanwhile all the Tanebi ninja were stunned. They knew what Sasuke was doing, and against a normal shinobi it might work. In Gaara's case though, they knew it would only make the carnage worse. An angry Gaara, was a Gaara that nightmares were made of.

The look on Gaara's face was instantaneous and full of complete and utter rage. His face contorted to a look of a psychotic maniac. A huge wave of sand shot out at Sasuke, and he could not avoid it. A wall of sand reached around his ribs and began to squeeze hard. His arms were also tied up and Sasuke was beginning to have trouble breathing. Gaara's eyes shone on the brink of insanity.

"Oh boy this is bad. He's beginning to revert." Ruto said. On his face was a look of pure horror. He knew the pain that his friend was going through, but he also knew had a fear in his eyes as well. He was so scared about what may happen to his brother figure.

"What do you mean revert? Revert to what?" Sakura wondered. She too was scared with the tone that Ruto was taking. In all the time that she had been talking to him, he never sounded anything like this and that scared her like nothing else.

"Remember the bad place I told you about?" Sakura nodded at this. "Well this is that bad side before Hinata met him and calmed him down. A Gaara that everybody hated and one that thirsts for blood more then anything. Sasuke has no idea what he just unleashed."

"So is Sasuke-kun in any danger? Will he kill Sasuke-kun?" Sakura began to cry.

"No he won't go that far. At least not at this point. However, with what I've seen from him thus far, he may. Don't worry though, we had a feeling that Konoha would piss Gaara off so we brought my sensei here who can calm him down if needed. Maybe this will knock his ego down a few pegs though."

"Sasuke-kun has no ego. He just needs to put up face for his clan." Ino shouted.

"So, just because your pathetic girl couldn't protect her sorry self then you feel that this will do well. I guess that you are nothing but a weak fool, just like her." Sasuke knew that he had to get out of there so he decided that if he broke the sand ninja's concentration then he may be able to get free of the hold. He instantaneously felt the sand around him tighten and an arm of sand appear on Gaara. Ruto, all of the Tanebi shinobi present, and the Suna ninja widened their eyes and knew that the match would have to be stopped or else he may completely snap.

"Ero-sensei seal him now!!" Naruto's sensei, a large man with long grey hair that went down to his back ran up to Gaara with a seal in hand and put it on his forehead causing him to fall unconscious and the sand around Sasuke to release. Sasuke was not in good shape at all as he began to cough up blood and was close to slipping into a coma. A medic team came out and escorted Sasuke away, while all the Konoha shinobi were very concerned. Everybody was waiting on the proctors decision on the result of the fight. However, before he could announce it, Fugaku made his decision.

"Interrupting a fight is illegal Jiraiya. Obviously you wanted to protect the ninja by interfering so I say that Sasuke advances and that sand gennin goes home."

"You know what hokage-sama? You've interfered on several events during the course of the exams which is strictly prohibited by the Alliance. You can bet that they would hear from us about the actions you've taken here."

"Oh, excuse me for taking care of dangerous traitors. I'm so sorry about the trouble that your leader did sending those vermin here. And seeing you here, I guess one traitor can only learn from another traitor."

"Coming from the clan of Madara Uchiha. A clan made up of traitors of Konoha only for them to now run the country. Oh how this village has fallen. You're a disgrace. A man who could only ascend by destroying the reputation of a loyal man who delivered Konoha from a dangerous war. And who's top warrior had to be saved by a traitor."

"Get out of my arena and my village now or else I'll have ANBU force you out!"

"Like you could. You know you can't by law. Besides your ANBU couldn't scratch me. So why not just let my team continue to compete and we can avoid trouble."

"Fine but if you cause another interruption I will have your team disqualified." Jiraya just smirked and went back to near his team, before dropping Gaara off into his team. The roulette wheel spun again before it landed on Shino Aburame vs Lucien.

Shino dropped down to the ground via the stairs while Lucien dropped through the floor and the two stood apart not saying a thing. The match began but still the two didn't take their eyes away from each other.

"What are they doing? I mean they're just staring at each other." Sakura wondered.

"They're sizing each other up." Tayuya answered. "Lucien-kun is what we like to call a cerebral assassin. An assassin who will beat you with his mind and psych a person out."

"Well I'm sorry, but Shino will not go down easily. He's the same way despite being a bit creepy." Ino protested.

Shino started the match by sending a few bugs at Lucien who phased right through them and ran right after the Aburame child. He sent more bugs which again went right through the boy. Shino had to dodge and move away before Lucien could get close. Lucien didn't buy this move and again charged while Shino sent more bugs after him which again phased through.

"I don't get it. Why does Shino keep sending those bugs after him while he continues to phase right through them?" Sakura asked.

"Shino has a plan. He's a very bright person. He's using his bugs as a trap so that Lucien will be lured in until he makes his mark and then you're done." Ino answered.

"Lucien knows this. He's intelligent as well and thrives when people think they're ahead. Shino may be three steps ahead of the game, but Lucien is six. Trust me on this, he's a cerebral assassin." Tayuya said.

Back at the arena, Shino kept sending his bugs at Lucien who kept phasing though and attacking. Finally, a single bug landed on Lucien.

"I see my theory was correct. That phase trick you do wastes a lot of your chakra and now you have little. My hive surrounds you completely and you have no chance in this match. Give up. I don't want to have to hurt you."

Looking around, Lucien could see that he was surrounded so he reached into his vest and pulled out a cylinder and threw it on the ground and was surrounded by smoke.

"You know that bugs sense their targets by smell and not sight right?" Shino asked the child.

"Yes I did. I kept this in case I ran into any vicious bugs in the area. Do you know what it does?" Shino shook his head and Lucien continued. "You see, what it releases a gas that is faint. Only things with a largely magnified sense of smell can detect it. And if it's detected, it's destroyed temporarily. You see, I wanted you to release your entire hive so now your insects are useless." The smoke lifted from the area and the two were surrounded by a group of confused bugs sucking chakra from everything. They couldn't tell who was ally, enemy, or neutral and Shino had no control of his colony at all.

"I see. Well played. You used your chakra maneuvers to make me think that I trapped you, when you in fact have me trapped and everybody else gets their chakra drained by my bugs. I concede to your intelligence. May you do well in the finals. Proctor, I resign." Shino then made a few noises and the bugs returned to their place from inside Shino's body.

"What the heck? Why would Shino quit? He was doing well and Lucien was out of chakra. Surely Shino could have finished the job without his bugs." Sakura wondered.

"Maybe, but Shino was losing a lot of his colony in the chaos. The longer the fight went, the more of his colony that he would have lost. And Shino can't have his colony be lost. Did your teammate know about this?" Ino asked the Tanebi shinobi.

"There's a chance. The Aburame are not exactly a discreet clan and we knew of their presence and what they could do. He may have prepared that. He's meticulous about this kind of thing." Ruto responded.

The wheel turned again and before long it stopped.

Ino Yamanaka vs Choji Akimichi.

...

Yes kinda short, but I've been really busy lately and I felt that I needed to at least get something out so you know I'm still in the game and thinking.

I tried to make Sasuke think logically and he was trying to make Gaara lose focus but he didn't know about a mad Gaara.

Itachi is team Hyuuga's sensei, Kakashi is Kin Shika Cho, where as Jiraya is Ruto/Naruto's sensei.

The last fight was a bit lame. Sorry about that, but this fight wouldn't really be an exciting one anyway, just a chess match. Kinda boring with how similar they are.

Next Chapter: Ino vs Choji

Thank you all for reading.

Please review


	5. Akimichi vs Yamanaka

Tanebi

Chapter 5- Yamanaka vs Akimichi

Yes, I'm back and better then ever. Ok I'm just back but anyway, time to go on with the reviews.

Chm01: Yeah, my grammar never was my strong point. Always looking for a beta though for both of my stories. I'm not going to disclose on how hurt Sasuke really is right now though. I don't want to say if she is or not, but yes. Thanks for the review.

Prague: Always good to see him drop a peg. Yeah I probably should use a thesaurus. Thanks for the tip.

Wind797: I don't want to really travel that route. At least for the prelims. Don't fear though, my match up for Sakura will be interesting and be awesome to the story.

Kaiser Spartan: Glad you loved it. Hope you like the rest too. I'm a Gaara/Hina fan myself. I feel that they are better for each other then Kiba and Hinata.

Harry Foureyes: I also feel that the Uchiha's are in character based on what you said. Actually, Ember is where Sound should have been. Personally, based on Tayuya's appearance and attitude, she seems to be like Kushina. I figured, why not, you know? If I keep posting, I feel that I'll get the reviews I need. I just want to post the best work that I can.

Zero Sakura Cross: Glad for your concerns. Iruka survived and was the one who confessed. I feel that his character would have done that.

All right let's get on with the show.

...

Ino looked started. She saw that her opponent was Choji, an Akimichi, former family friend, and a deserter from Konoha. It was Choji who knocked her out in the forest of death and took her scroll away from her beloved Sasuke. She knew that this foe would be no joke.

Ino had been raised with negative propaganda about all the Akimichi. Mostly from her father about how all Akimichi were nothing but two-faced weasels. She was told to never befriend one, or better yet, kill one before they could stick you while your guard is down. Now was her chance to show the Akimichi that they should have never have turned their back on Konoha for the son of the greatest villain that Konoha had ever known.

Choji did not want to fight this girl. Sure his father had told him that a Yamanaka is nothing but a shallow and flip-flop clan, but at the same time he understood that this girl had nothing to do with her father. This girl did nothing to him, and yet he was expected to roll her into a pancake. He wondered what Shikamaru would do.

Silently the two combatants walked down to the arena. They had different looks on their faces though. Ino was focused and determined to show everyone what she was made of. Choji was hesitant.

"Interesting match-up." Ruto spoke to Sakura. "A match between a Yamanaka and Akimichi. Two clans who used to be the best of friends, only to be split up by village politics."

"What do you mean? You mean to say that the fathers of these two used to be friends?" Sakura asked.

"You don't know about their clan's history? That's odd. You'd think that such a famous tandem would at least be mentioned." Lucien mentioned to Sakura.

"No, not all. The Akimichi were blackbooked along with all the other deserters like the Hyuuga. Were they really that famous?" Sakura wondered.

"Yeah. Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka were one of the best teams produced in the history of Konoha. Their skills worked so well together that they were hard to stop." Ruto explained.

"So then, how do you know about them then?"

"We were warned about something like this happening when we got here. Naturally we all told the stories about them so we wouldn't be caught off guard." Lucien explained.

"Oh, I see. So how do you see this match going? Does Ino-pig have a chance?"

"Hard to say." Tayuya started. "The bimbo doesn't have the conditioning to last more then a minute against fat ass. However, he seems distracted by the fact that she's a Yamanaka, while she seems eager to fight."

"You know, you keep mentioning conditioning of our kunoichi. About how poor it is and how we don't stack up. We go through tough and rigorous training to become kunoichi so I say that Ino-pig is conditioned well enough to win."

"No. She's thin, too thin." Lucien added. "Also, both her arms and legs have a sigmificamt lack of muscle. Her body structure and type look as if proper nutrition has not been inside her body. She may have training, but without the right amount of calories, the training won't do anything because her body lacks the energy to convert it into chakra or even into muscle."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "I never even noticed it before. Am I the same way?"

"Your better a bit then the bimbo, but still," Tayuya paused as she began to circle Sakura and eye her up and down. She suddenly felt very self-concious and very uncomfortable. "Hmm, thin stomach. Probably means that you don't eat enough. Calves, theighs, biceps, and triceps are a little small but nothing too shitty. Plus your ass looks pretty nice." Everyone in hearing range blushed at the compliment. "All in all I'd say you're in decent shape and a lot better then I expected. Not quite at mine, or Hinata's level, but you could be on par with Kin maybe." For some reason, Sakura actually felt very good about getting a compliment by the redhead. Even if it really didn't sound like one.

Back in the arena, the proctor signaled for the match to begin. Choji immediately expanded into his meat tank and began to roll himself at an alarming speed towards Ino. Ino, having very little time to move, barely dodged the attack by rolling to her right and came out unscratched, while Choji stopped his tank before hitting the wall.

Choji started after Ino again, but this time Ino was more prepared. She dodged to the left and launched a kick at the body of the tank. She hit with the kick, but all it managed to do was hurt Ino's foot and not even budge Choji.

"You see," Tayuya explained, "she lacks the conditioning to hit a critical attack on Choji in that form. She lacks the strength to do any damage on the meat tank. It becomes a battle of nutrition and I don't know if the bimbo can hold out long enough for the fat ass to tire himself out."

The battle continued in a similar fashion. Ino kept on looking for different holes to exploit and attack, but none of the attacks ever went through. Choji gave her plenty of openings, but she could never capitalize, and now she was not only running out of ideas, but she was also running out of chakra.

She thought about what she had left in her arsenal. She tried every manner of physical attack, but they all just bounced off like nothing. She tried the basic genjutsu that she learned, but that also never got through the shield of the meat tank. Her ninjutsu was extremely limited, but the ones that she did know weren't applicable in this case. Her last resort to use was her mind transfer jutsu.

She didn't want to have to resort to that however. For one, this enemy couldn't stay still long enough for her to channel her chakra and fire. Plus, there was no guarantee at all if the justu would be successful even if it did hit. Plus, it was a one shot deal. If she missed, then this match would be over, and she would be flattened. Using that technique was definitely out of the question.

What else could she do though? Fighting like this would cause her much more harm then good. She couldn't keep fighting like this for too much longer. She figured though, that he also couldn't keep this up for too much longer. She figured that outlasting Choji, and sparing as much of her chakra as possible was the only way that she could beat this enemy.

Choji continued to pound away at her. He though, began to notice that instead of looking for a counter, she was now just dodging. That gave him all the more incentive to try to hit her. If he could land one solid blow, then the match would be over. Of course landing that blow was the truly difficult part about his whole offense.

Thirty seconds of attacks later, and Ino was completely wiped out. Her body ached with scratches and bruises from all the close calls with the meat tank. Before, she could see her opponent coming and find some way to dodge. Now however, those dodges were coming not only slower, but they also hurt a whole lot more. The tank was beginning to slow down a bit, but not enough for what Ino would prefer. Choji still had more then enough chakra to continue what he was doing and Ino was getting desperate.

The meat tank rolled after Ino again, but this time her leg cramped up on the dodge and she flew through the air like Eddy Gordo from Tekken when they don't know the combos. Clutching her leg, she backed up and could only watch as the meat tank rolled right at her for an impending collision. Desperately she put her hands together and called out for her mind transfer jutsu, and the entire audience was silent, waiting for the result of Ino's technique.

They watched as Choji started to shrink in size, until he looked normal. He then announced that he quit the match and thus Ino was the winner. Ino released her jutsu and she returned to her injured body and limped up the stairs as the winner. On the way, she saw the hokage give her, what seemed to be a look of slight approval.

"You did your village good by showing the traitors just who their superiors are. Your clan will certainly reap the benefits. Keep up the good work, and you may call yourself Uchiha one day." Fugaku told her, before turning his attention back to the arena.

Ino just walked back to where her group was in a complete dreamlike daze. The words, Uchiha one day rang through her mind like chimes on a windy day. She knew at that point in her life, that she may be closer to winning Sasuke over then Sakura. She also brought honor to her clan and honor to herself as a kunoichi.

Looking back to the arena, Choji looked mad at himself. He knew that he had that battle won, but failed to pay attention to the one technique that he had to look out for. He knew that he lost that match. Shikamaru tried to comfort him, but he wasn't very good at it. Reading people was far too troublesome for him to do. Kin was a little better. She told him that he did great and that even though he lost, he was the better fighter. Kakashi wanted to get involved, but he knew that his team would have to take care of things by themselves. So he stuck his nose in his erotic novel, while silently hoping that Kin would take care of things. For Kakashi, Shikamaru was a lot like him. That in itself scared the living daylights out of him.

The big board rolled again. Everyone was a little on edge. They had seen three fights to this point, and all of them had a different flair. One match saw the son of the hokage brutally decimated and his opponent disqualified. The second saw a chess match between a pair of brilliant minds, and the third saw the beginning of a new clan feud. The big board stopped on the names of Tayuya and Maya.

Tayuya smirked and walked with a swagger down to the arena to face her upcoming enemy. Maya, a ninja from Kumo, also walked down to the arena. Maya had black hair that went down to her shoulders and a typical Kumo protector around her neck.

Sakura looked down at the arena with the most focus she'd ever used. She had heard Tayuya talk a lot of trash about the lousy state of kunoichi in Konoha and now she was up to either back up her talk, or get completely humiliated. Ruto and Lucien looked down at the match, already knowing the result.

The sight at the arena showed a clear disparity between the two. Tayuya stood there looking very composed and natural. Though she had a smirk on her face, her overall look screamed confidence. Maya however looked a bit intimidated at the older girl. She was backing up slightly and even beginning to shake at the sight of the fiery redhead.

The proctor announced that the fight was to begin, and Maya started off by launching a lightning bolt right at Tayuya which she easily dodged. Tayuya then ran up to the ninja and aimed a barrage of fists and kicks at the other kunoichi.

Maya was having a large difficulty fending off Tayuya. The blows that Tayuya hit were only glancing blows, which did minimal damage to the other girl. Yet, she was doing damage to the arms and legs of the other girl, which she was using to block.

Sakura was impressed with the tenacity of the red head. She assumed that Tayuya was a good fighter, but not anywhere near this good. She was absolutely decimating the kunoichi, but what made her sick was that it seemed that Tayuya didn't even look like she was trying. It looked as if Tayuya still had another gear or two that she could rev up to.

"There's Tay for you. Impressed?" Ruto started.

"Yeah. I guess that she wasn't all the talk that I assumed she was. I mean it doesn't even look like she's even trying down there." Sakura said, impressed with the Tanebi kunoichi.

"It's cause she's not. Neechan knows that there are more fights after this one. She doesn't want to give anything away. She's sticking with the bare basics. Maybe two thirds of her strength and speed and no special techniques. She's got to save something."

"Like the flute that she has tied to the back of her clothes?" Sakura wondered.

"I can't say. Well, I can but I really don't want to see what she'd do if I did tell you about it. Tayuya can get very scary when you piss her off." Ruto replied.

"And what exactly does piss her off?" Ino wondered.

"Fan girls for one. Oh and people who want to correct her language. If you do any of those two, then she'll get on such a rampage that even Lucien couldn't stop." Ruto responded.

Back on the arena, Maya was getting absolutely punished by Tayuya. She still had yet to have a solid blow made, yet Maya had not put Tayuya at all on the defensive. Tayuya barely missed a punch at the face of Maya. Maya then reached for a kunai and went in for a pierce to the ribs of her enemy.

Tayuya barely saw the attack coming, and blocked the kunai with her battle flute, and she pushed the kunai away. The weapon flew across the ground weakly, and Maya fell down on her butt. She put her hands up to try and stop Tayuya from doing something that would be disastrous to her.

Tayuya just smirked and kicked the girl halfway across the arena. Maya was out cold and Tayuya was the clearcut winner. She walked the way back up to her box. On the way up, she caught a look from the female sand ninja. The said ninja gave a smile and nod of approval, which Tayuya accepted and made her way over to her team.

The teams all cleared when Tayuya walked by. Such a show of domination had almost all of kuniochi and shinobi alike all fear the girl. Some of the people thought that she was ruthless, and some thought that she was vicious. All of them however found her effective and dangerous. When Tayuya reached her team, she accepted a nod from both of her teammates which she accepted, and then she looked at Ino and Sakura and gave them a look to try and make them startled. Ino jumped back in slight fear, but Sakura held her ground and glared right back. Given, she was quaking in her boots in fear of this girl, but still gave Tayuya a glare. After the glaring match, Tayuya pulled back and gave a smirk and a look of respect for Sakura.

All the Tanebi teams stood proud. Next to Ruto, Tayuya was recognized as one of the best ninja that they had to offer. So far they had three competitors and of the three two had advanced to the next round, and one at the expense of a young and brilliant Aburame child.

Fugaku knew that these Tanebi shinobi, especially Tayuya and her teammates were extremely dangerous. He also knew that he had seen this girl before. Her likeness was so much like a person that he knew at one time, but he couldn't place where he had seen her.

Red haired kunoichi were not all that rare in Konoha. He had seen and fought alongside several. But something about this one was different. As if looking into her eyes was among the most frightening things he'd ever experienced. This was also just a simple child.

Very few people, much less kunoichi, had given him fear over the years. That just made this more of a puzzle. In fact, there are only four that he could name. The word four opened his eyes as he realized now where he had seen this girl. The resemblance was clear.

They both had fiery red hair with a temper to match. The same facial and body structure as well. They shared the same combat styles and ruthlessness for their enemies. But lastly, they shared the same eyes. Eyes that said, if you come close, I'll castrate you. This girl had to be the daughter of Kushina Uzumaki.

What Fugaku didn't know however, was what the appearance of the daughter of Kushina Uzumaki meant. He also knew that this girl was the daughter of Tanebi's leader. But if that was the case, then that meant that the leader of Tanebi had to be Kushina herself. That thought in itself was enough to scare Fugaku.

If that was the case, then that meant that Tanebi most likely had every ninja that defected from Konoha. The squads that defected made up a large portion of the Konoha army, and if those ninja were a part of Tanebi, added to the ninja that the area where they set up their camp, would make Tanebi a very powerful village. Also, with Kushina as the leader of this force, then they would certainly not be on friendly terms with Konoha. Surely, he knew at this very moment that Tanebi would stop at nothing to take all the power away from Konoha. Power that he worked so hard to take.

Meanwhile, medics were franticly working on the injured chest of Sasuke. What happened to him, is what they feared had happened. His ribs completely collapsed on his lungs. If this wasn't taken care of, then there would be a good chance that Sasuke may die from suffocation.

The medics were able to patch together the chest and ribs of Sasuke. That was the primary thing that they would need to take care of. Now, however they ran into a completely different problem. A problem that is just as critical and life-threatening as the first.

Sasuke's lungs had been damaged. He had a small puncture wound in his left lung. His right one really wasn't much off then the left. As of their current medical capibilities, Konoha was unsure as to if Sasuke could fully recover.

They would have to operate quickly. Should they delay, Sasuke may never recover at all, and his shinobi career would have been cut short then and there. Normally, Konoha would need to ask for consent to perform such a procedure. Sasuke however was different. Sasuke himself was a symbol. A symbol of the Uchiha clan and the might of Konoha. Losing Sasuke as a shinobi would be a critical loss for not only their military, but their morale.

People looked up to the Uchiha clan for heir might and leadership. They are now the current governing power in Konoha as the personal guard for the hokage. If Sasuke was lost as a shinobi, then the results would be terrible. Yet if the operation failed and Sasuke died, then Konoha would lose the shinobi part of Sasuke, but also the figurehead.

After a long debate that extended for hours, the medical staff decided that they would indeed operate on Sasuke and try to give him a lung transplant. They hoped for the sake of their country and their lives, that this choice was a good one.

Itachi walked into the hotel room where his leader was staying. He traveled there after he was kicked out of the tower to give his report to their leader Kushina. Before heading here though, he checked on his student Hinata. She was doing well for herself and would make a full recovery.

"Ah Itachi, it's so nice to see you. Though I could say that I wish that we could meet under a more ideal circumstance. How's she doing anyway?" Kushina wondered.

"She will be fine. I am curious though, why aren't you watching your children's matches?"

"They don't need me to watch them. They're the best unit I've ever seen. Besides, I need to keep an eye on the shinobi around here. Under that bastard hokage, who knows what the special ANBU of Uchiha may do? I need to monitor the situation. Jiraiya can easily protect Naruto and Tayuya."

"Understandable. By the way, reports that I've received indicate that favoritism has been used several times in the exam. Mostly directed in Konoha's favor and solely at Sasuke."

"Yes I have also read the reports. I plan on filing a formal complaint about everything. About Hina's attack, the blatant favoritism, and the attacks on a lot of my shinobi and myself. This village has certainly gone downhill."

"They attacked you Kushina-sama?" Itachi asked in semi-surprise. After all, Itachi could never be fully surprised.

"Only a couple of weak idiots. Self-righteous jonin who believe that because I harbor a Hyuuga then that makes me some evil bitch or something. I don't know if the Alliance will do anything or not though. After all, the Uchiha clan has a strangle hold on a couple of villages."

"I see. Did you also receive the report submitted by Jiraiya-sama about Gaara?"

"I skimmed it. Haven't had time yet to actually read what that pervert said. Something about how Shukaku threatened to come out. Where is he now?" Kushina asked.

"He's at Hinata's bedside. He's still upset at the whole matter, but at least he's under control again."

"Ah young love. If I could only be young again." Kushina muttered staring off into space.

"Kushina-sama, you're not even 35 yet. You are still very young and a great leader to us all."

"Thank you Itachi. I've heard from several people about this, but I think that you are a person better suited. Do you regret leaving this village? Do you feel responsible for the way that your brother turned out?"

Itachi was silent for a few moments. "No. What my father did by spreading lies and propaganda about Yondaime was inexcusable. He was a big part in us winning the war and saved us from Kyuubi. Despite that, when the village needed leadership the most, my father launched his power play and takeover of the government. I do regret about what my younger brother has become. I really wanted to be there for him, but I just couldn't."

"I didn't want to leave either to be honest. But my child wasn't safe here. Not only that, but that bastard father of yours was the one who kidnapped Tayuya and shipped her off to that snake bastard shortly after her birth, all for an attempt at power play." Kushina growled before trying hard to regain her composure.

"Well Itachi, thank you for your time and honesty. What do you want to do about Hinata?"

"It's not Hinata or Gaara that I'm concerned about. It's Neji and Tenten. Both of them are attached to Hinata and very volatile at the moment. It may be for the best that I ship the three of them back to Tanebi to keep them from doing something foolish. I'll send them back to watch the finals."

"Excellent assessment Itachi. I knew that you would be a better sensei then special ops. Very well, you may leave."

The cycle of names began again and everybody was on the edge of their seat. They had seen four matches so far, and a few things stood out. Mainly that the shinobi from Tanebi were for real and very dangerous. Also, Suna had a few emotional shinobi, and finally that Konoha has not shown up to this point in time. The wheel finally stopped on two names. The names of two people who would put on an epic show for all people to see.

The next match was one that in hindsight, Sakura would recognize as the point to where her feelings began to change and shift into love for someone else.

Ruto vs Rock Lee

...

I did a lot with perspective in this chapter. I originally had it going a bit longer then this but I had to rewrite a bit of it because I didn't like it.

I went over a bit of the details of Sasuke's injuries. They were indeed very serious. As you can tell though, he doesn't die from them, but they will come in to play later on in the story.

As far as why I had Ino win, I needed a Konoha ninja who could create a story in the next round. I felt that Ino could do that better then Choji could.

I really wanted to use a Dane Cook line, and the one I used felt perfect for the scenario

Thank you so much for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Ruto vs Lee

Please review.


	6. Ruto Revealed

Tanebi

Chapter 6: Ruto exposed

Hello and welcome back. I have the latest part of the installment and I'm ready and willing to go at it. Let me start by addressing my reviewers.

Draklin: Thanks a lot man. I will.

Prague: I'm trying to be a bit unclear but you'll find out the answer this chapter. For the teams, I'll let you know in this format, student, student, student; sensei. Ruto, Tayuya, Lucien; Jiraiya. Shikamaru, Choji, Kin; Kakashi. Neji, Hinata, Tenten; Itachi. Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba; Kuranai. Ino, Shino, Lee; Gai. That should clear things up.

Zero Sakura Cross: Oh yeah it should be good. I can never give Naruto an easy road can I?

Chm01: Interesting. I didn't originally have that in mind. I'll have to get back to you on that cause I may just go down that road.

Harryfoureyes: With what I have planned for her, she had to win unfortunately. About Sasuke, I will go into more detail after the Lee vs Ruto fight. Ruto will have to show a lot more then he wants to mainly because Lee will be really good. But he will keep some secrets. He won't end up that bad, but he's not coming out unblemished.

Wind797: Nailed it right on the head. Thanks a lot for the review.

Dragonshaun9: Thanks a ton. That's the best compliment that a writer can get. Yeah, part 1 in this story will be all flashback on Sakura building the relationship on Naruto and will take you right up to where I began the story in chapter 1. After that, Part 2 will begin and will describe the war in detail. Not sure if I will do a Part 3, surprising as I do everything in 3's.

Kaiser Spartan: I really don't want to spoil anything, but I don't think I'll disappoint you. Thanks for reviewing.

Lexor: Well even if Sasuke won't ever be at full again, he would still be the Konoha figurehead. Good call on the lungs though.

Inarealpickle: Intentional play on words. Thanks a ton to on your reviews from the other chapters. They mean a lot to me.

Now we see what Ruto can do. So why draw out the suspense? Let's go on with the story.

...

Ruto's face became very solemn and serious as he looked around to see his competition. His eyes then landed on a person dressed entirely in a green spandex jumpsuit raving about how the power of youth will propel him to victory over an unknown enemy.

Aside from the most obvious features of the gennins body being the bowl haircut, huge eyebrows, and green spandex, Ruto looked beyond the obvious. The first thing that he noticed was his hands and wrists were taped. Based on the information that his mother gave him, he concluded that this ninja was a primary taijutsu user. Another thing that he noticed was a small bit of excess bulk around his ankles. That likely meant weights of a similar type that his sister used. Right away, Ruto knew that he was in for a big fight. A fight that may force him to reveal himself.

Ruto grabbed onto the railing and gracefully lept down to the arena below while his opponent used the stairs. The two locked eyes in an intense moment of glaring and sizing the other person up.

"He's got no chance." Ino told everyone. "Lee may look awful and act like a complete goof ball, but he's the second strongest gennin in this entire exam. Second only to Sasuke-kun."

"And yet Sasuke got pummeled by Gaara." Tayuya added. "Ruto is the only person in Tanebi who can take Gaara down."

"Therefore your opinion would be invalid. Sasuke seems to be weaker then Gaara and Ruto is equal to Gaara. If Lee is weaker then Sasuke, then he has to be weaker then Ruto." Lucien finished.

"The only reason that Sasuke-kun got hurt was because someone else attacked him before the match even started. As good as Sasuke-kun is, he can't beat a jonin." Ino added.

"But judgment is a key part of being a shinobi." Tayuya responded. "If that asshole's dumb enough to attack a jonin, then he's got the brain of a damn academy student."

"Oh yeah, well what would you do if one of the biggest enemies to the village was standing in front of you?" Ino asked.

"Run like hell. Tanebi has enemies to you know, and if that damn pedophile and his bitch came in front of me, I'd either get out of there or act inconspicuous. What would you do bimbo?"

Ino had no real response for the girl, so she just grunted and turned her attention back to the fight. Tayuya had also sensed a large amount of energy coming from this boy and knew that her brother was in for the fight of his life.

The proctor began the match and like a rocket, Lee took off at Ruto. Lee launched a punch at Ruto, which he blocked and countered with a kick to the other gennin's head. Lee leaned back and launched a kick at Ruto's legs. Ruto twisted his legs around one of Lee's and caused him to fall on the ground, but Lee turned that into a handstand, and flipped his way back onto his feet about five feet away.

It didn't take Lee long however to go back on the offensive and charged Ruto again head on. Ruto saw the attack coming, and jumped aiming a kick at Lee's face. Lee brought up his arms and the impact from the kick stopped his momentum, but didn't damage him. Ruto took the chance to trip Lee from his position, and again Lee fell, but managed to get himself up before Ruto could take advantage of the situation.

Even though Lee's attacks have been very unsuccessful, he was using them as a gage of how this enemy fights. He could tell that unlike his Gokun style, which relied on basic techniques but had enormous speed and power, this enemy used a different style.

The style that this enemy used was one that he'd never seen before. From what he had seen this style was one that relied on a range of jumps and attacks from odd angles. It was a style that was effective in that it could alter what any opponent against it would want to do. He knew that he had to do something different, but at this moment he had no idea what he would have to do in order to change the momentum of this fight.

Lee again charged and went after the left side of Ruto. Ruto dodged the attack and went after the back calf of Lee with a low roundhouse kick. Lee jumped over the kick and Ruto landed a punch right in the stomach of his opponent.

Lee clutched his stomach and backpedaled a few steps while holding his stomach. He was getting completely dominated by this gennin and was shocked beyond all belief. Ino was also floored. She had never even been able to even touch or hardly even see Lee in a spar, yet this gennin was not only holding his own, but he was clearly winning. She had no idea how someone other then Sasuke would even be able to land a punch.

"So you see." Tayuya said. "Ruto's taijutsu is very difficult and creative. It's a style that he's worked hard on his entire life and still changing to this very day."

"Lee's holding back right now though." Gai, an older clone of Lee said. "Lee, take them off. I allow it."

Tayuya had suspected that this enemy was using weights the entire time. What she thought however that that he was only wearing few pounds. Certainly a few pounds wasn't enough to change the course of this fight. Especially when her brother was also holding back.

Excitedly, Lee jumped to the top of the statue near a wall of the chunin exam arena and removed the weights on his ankles. He dropped them to the ground and they landed with a huge thud on the ground below which caused a eye raise by every person watching the fight.

"Now you all see." Gai said. "Lee needs the weights. His true speed and power are so youthful that without the weights it would just come bursting out in droves."

"What the hell was that?" Tayuya responded while Ino just grinned maliciously.

"Now now my youthful neighbor. Such manner of talking is very unyouthful. Speaking in such a manner will diminish your flames of youth."

"What the hell are you talking about you fucking retard. I'm fourteen damn years old and I'll speak whatever shit I feel like. Or are you calling me an old granny?"

"No I didn't mean that me most youthful gennin. It's just that hearing such language from one so youthful really cuts down my own youthful flames."

"I understand. It's just that it's coming on that time again and I really feel the bloat ..."

"I understand your position my youthful gennin. I won't ask another word. That would be unyouthful." Gai walked away while Tayuya just smirked under her hair, knowing that the green freak wouldn't bother her for the rest of the day. It was like her mother always said, nothing will repulse a man faster then talking about _those _problems.

Ino was stunned. No matter what she tried, she could never get her sensei to leave like that. If he ever got rolling like he just had, then she would have to spend the rest of the day working up a sweat and a migraine. She had to learn the secret of what this girl did that could possibly get her sensei to shut up.

Sakura was listening to the conversation, but at the same time, her eyes had never even left the arena. She to this point was very impressed with what this shinobii could do. Throughout the course of the exams, she had been comparing the abilities of every shinobi to Sasuke from style, power, speed, and all the intangibles. From her point of view, it seemed like Naruto had Sasuke matched or even beaten in all those categories, and if what Tayuya was saying was true, then Ruto would only get better as the match went on. She was really interested in how Ruto would deal with the new challenge.

Back on the floor of the arena, Lee bounced back. His weights were off and he was raring to get another crack at this gennin from Tanebi. After he reached the ground, he ran right at Ruto and launched a punch at Ruto's face. Ruto was barely able to get an arm up to block the attack, but it still sent him back a few feet. Lee didn't give Ruto a chance to recover though. He immediately went after Ruto's stomach with a punch, but Ruto barely blocked it with his arm right below the elbow.

Unfortunately for Ruto, Lee had managed to hit one of the pressure points in Ruto's elbow and now his entire right arm would be ineffective for a couple of minutes. Ruto tried to turn the tide of the battle with a kick aimed at Lee's head, but Lee was much too fast for Ruto. He was able to block the kick and nearly make contact with Ruto's stomach, before Ruto kicked off of Lee and landed about five feet away.

Ruto now started to make a few hand seals, but Lee attacked again before Ruto could finish it. He went with a kick aimed at Ruto's face, and Ruto had to stop performing the seals in order to avoid contact. He tried again to form hand seals, but again Lee was much too fast.

A third time, Ruto tried to execute the hand seals, but a third time that Lee interrupted the attack before he could even come close to finishing. Ruto got back into his fighting stance, as his ninjutsu approach was clearly failing. Lee took the chance again to try to attack Ruto with a kick aimed at his head, but Ruto was able to block it in time with his left arm. Ruto responded with a jumping kick aimed at the midsection of Lee which he was easily able to dodge. Lee tried to attack with repeated punches to the face of Ruto, who responded by dodging every punch thrown.

"How is this happening?" Ino wondered. "Before, Ruto couldn't even keep up with Lee without his weights. Now he seems to be holding his own but he's not getting faster."

"The seals." Lucien answered. "Ruto didn't know or even come close to the timing on Lee, so he used the seals."

"I see." Sakura asked. "Ruto is intelligent. He knows very well the speed at which he can form his hand seals. Because of this, he was able to gage how fast the other gennin was able to attack. Then, using the timing and his knowledge of the taijutsu style that his opponent was using, he is able to retime his ability to block and dodge the faster opponent. Do I have it right?" Even as she said this though, her eyes were still never taken off the fight below.

"Uh yeah. That's actually exactly what he was doing." Tayuya said startled. "How were you able to figure that one out?"

"That's always been forehead's specialty." Ino answered. "She studied much more in the academy then anyone else and she never missed a question on the exams. Of course for the more practical side of ninja arts, she was left much weaker then other kunoichi."

"I would disagree." Lucien added. "Every team needs a strategist and support member. With superior intelligence and from what I saw in the first exam a good capibility with genjutsu, Sakura makes a very difficult support member to deal with."

_I see._ Tayuya thought. _That genjutsu disturbance came from her in the first exam. Maybe there is more to this girl then I thought. Maybe she's not the fan girl that I thought she was. Of course, I'll just have to see it for myself when the time comes. _

Lee continued his assault which was starting to back Ruto against the wall. Just before he hit the wall, Ruto responded by turning Lee around to another wall and began to use a wide array of punches and kicks from awkward angles that Lee had barely seen in his entire life. Lee was on the edge, taking a lot of near hits.

Ruto again went for a jumping kick to the head of Lee, but Lee countered with a knee aimed at the midsection Ruto and connected. Once again, Lee was on the offensive.

Ino smiled, knowing that for once, the redhead next to her was silenced. She knew the whole time that the only person capable of beating Lee was Sasuke. She would admit though, that this Ruto guy was really good.

Lee continued to attempt to hammer Ruto with rights and lefts. Unlike before, Ruto was not dodging every blow. The blow that Lee landed on Ruto's stomach was a potential game changer. Lee was landing several glancing blows, but still solid contact avoided him. Ruto needed to once again change the fight in his favor. But, he had to do that without blowing his cover and going all out.

He got his chance when Lee missed on a punch to the face. Ruto then took the opportunity to kick Lee in the back of the knee and took the offensive again. He launched kicks and punches again to various parts of Lee's body. Ruto made grazing blows but could never hit the attack that would put the green clad shinobi down once and for all.

Every shinobi watching was on the edge of their seats. The battle continued to rage back and forth at speeds which they could barely even follow. Even Shino and Ino, who had to spar with Lee every day were having trouble. But the thing that surprised everyone was that both fighters seemed to be getting faster as the fight went on. Sakura for her part kept gripping the rail tighter and tighter. She had never seen anything like this ever. Even the spars between Kiba and Sasuke were never this intense.

After several more minutes of back and forth fighting, the two shinobi broke their lock on one another and jumped back five feet each. Both were bruised all across their bodies and breathing very heavily. The thing that started to worry Ruto, was that Lee refused to slow down. He was very good at taijutsu, but his specialty was ninjutsu. In a battle taijutsu beat ninjutsu, ninjutsu beat genjutsu, and genjutsu beat taijutsu. His sister, who was a genjutsu prodigy, would have no problem beating this guy. Unfortunately for him, he simply was close to inept at casting one. But at the same time, he had to pull out something huge to win.

Lee was thinking along some of those same lines. He knew that he had to win this match. After all, he had to beat Sasuke in the next round in order the win the love of his beloved flower. But at the same time, he didn't want to have to use that jutsu.

"You're (pant) really good at (pant) taijutsu." Ruto said. "Why (pant) aren't you (pant) trying genjutsu (pant) or taijutsu."

"I can't (pant) use chakra. Therefore (pant) I can only (pant) use taijutsu. Some think (pant) that's a weakness. I however (pant) use it as (pant) a strength."

"I see."

"Besides (pant) I need to become (pant) a splendid ninja (pant) and earn the love of (pant) my beloved flower Ino Yamanaka." Lee shouted. At the proclamation, Tayuya could do nothing but simply point at Ino and laugh hard.

"Well, you earned my (pant) respect. Allow me then (pant) to show you (pant) my true form. My true self and my true power."

Tayuya and Lucien both widened their eyes. They knew that sometime Ruto would have to reveal himself fully, but they didn't know that right here in front of the hokage was the right time to do that. At the same time though, they thought that he had to show his true power in order to win the match.

"His true form? What does he mean by that?" Sakura wondered.

"It's our bloodline. It allows us to alter our appearance into a form that can't be detected by any doujutsu or genjutsu release. For example, I could turn myself into the bimbo over there and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Vocal cords, breast size, clothes, everything would be altered into a new form."

"How does that help here though? I mean it sounds really good for things like infiltration and stuff but how does that translate into a one on one match?" Ino wondered.

"Using the ability takes a lot of chakra. About twenty percent of his reserves to keep up the new body. When he changes out of the new body, all that chakra comes back into his system. In other words," Tayuya started.

"It's like he's been using weights the entire time." Sakura concluded. She was now amazed. She saw that what Ruto was doing was fighting at only eighty percent of his full strength. _I thought that he was using ninety percent or higher. If he was holding back that much, then he has to be even stronger and better then Sasuke._

Ruto put his hands in a cross formation and released the genjutsu around his body and it was completely covered in a smoke. When it cleared, there stood a boy around the same height, but he looked completely different. First of all, he now had a blue shirt with an orange stripe going down the arms with white spandex going down the base of the arm. He wore matching blue shorts with no leggings. His hair now shined a vibrant blond color and his eyes were a deep blue. But the one thing about him that made him look much different then other people was the fact that he had three whisker like marks along his face.

Several eyes were widened and many turned into glares at the young boy. They recognized the fact that he looked exactly like the person who caused them the most damage of any person in the history of Konoha. Of course, the younger gennin had no idea what was so odd about this boy. However, they could sense the sudden case of unrest and anger coming off of several jonins and the hokage himself.

Lee could feel the difference in the power that this new version of Ruto had. He knew that at his current level of strength and fatigue, there was no way that he could expect to win this fight without using the forbidden jutsu that his sensei taught him.

Ruto wasted no time and went right after Lee. Lee was caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed that now matched his. Lee was hit with a knee right under his chin and was forced back six feet on the ground.

"So he's back." Kuranai said. Her face was completely blank.

"Who's back sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Son of the biggest traitor in the history of Konoha."

Sakura was absolutely floored. All her life she had learned about him. Learned about how he was the son of the forth hokage and how the forth used the power of the Kyuubi to boost the power of his son at the expense of the people. Up until this moment she thought that Naruto would be a bitter and angry boy who would have nothing but revenge on his mind. It never once even occurred to her that Ruto could be loyal and have good friends. It never occurred to her that he would be level headed and treated the people around him like equals. She thought that he would have to put up the same facade of superiority that she just knew Sasuke had. Looking back on the last week however, she was surprised that she didn't find out about this earlier.

"You know that's a lie." Tayuya mentioned seriously. "My father never summoned Kyuubi, it came on its own accord and my father did what he had to. Why can't you shitheads understand that?" Tayuya was on the verge of tears before Lucien embraced her. Even Tayuya had her moments of softness. She just hated showing them.

Gai himself always had doubts about the story as well. He had fought along with forth on many occasions and felt that the fourth was too youthful to outright betray the village. On the other hand, he felt that outright leaving the village was a very extreme measure and couldn't stand to see it happen. He knew now that Lee had to use the Lotus. Naruto was considered to be an enemy of Konoha and a danger to the village whether he believed it or not. Not only that, but Konoha had to show Tanebi that they were wrong to leave the village. "Lee, use the Lotus and win."

All the jonin in the room picked up on this. Most of them were silent. Stunned that Gai would teach a gennin how to use one of the forbidden techniques in Konoha. They knew that maybe, just maybe, the Lotus would be the one thing that would be able to defeat the spawn of the greatest enemy in the history of the village.

Fugaku somehow knew that Ruto was actually Naruto in disguise. One thing that he thought about doing was disqualify Naruto because Ruto never existed. That wouldn't work however, because the Alliance allowed the use of an identity change if the participant felt that their original identity put the applicant in danger. That meant that the only two things left were another attack, which was unlikely since they would be expecting it, or simply hope that he loses. While it would be satisfying to see Ruto lose here under the might of the Lotus, it would be even more gratifying to see him lose to the pride of Konoha in the finals.

Lee, all of a sudden started charging up his chakra at a rapid rate. The chakra that he was emitting was crushing every gennin in the room. Lee finished charging his chakra but in the process, his face became completely red.

Lee charged after Naruto so quickly that nobody in the room could even see Lee move. He hit Naruto in the stomach, causing him to fly backwards. Lee continued his assault and kneed Naruto in the air. He kept punching and kicking him in the air, before wrapping Naruto up in his wraps and sent him to the ground spinning at an alarming rate on his head. Lee released Naruto just before he hit the ground hard and the entire crown from Tanebi was silent.

Naruto had hit the ground hard. So hard that there was no way that their valiant warrior couldn't have possibly remained conscious The gennin from Konoha all cheered inside their heads, but some of them were loud about it. They had just witnessed the possibility that a life had just been ended, yet they all cheered. They cheered the death of a person whose only mistake was not his fault. Sakura however was concerned and this surprised her.

"Well that settles it." Ino said. "I'll say that your boy over there was damn good, but you see when you mess with the bull ..."

"Pig shut up." Sakura said devoid of any emotion. She turned her head to the puzzled Ino and everyone was surprised at the tears that started to flow uncontrollably from Sakura's eyes. "Enemy he may be, but still. He helped us pig. You know that. Without his help we wouldn't have passed this exam. So please, show some respect and just shut up."

Sakura looked over to Tayuya, and she saw scared her. Tayuya's face was completely blank and vacant of any life. Her face showed the possibility of potentially losing a person very close to her, and by what she had known of Tayuya, Naruto, their mother, and Lucien meant the world to her. She really felt bad for the girl. But at the same time, she had no idea what to say.

Lee didn't want to kill the shinobi. All he wanted was to win the match and be with his beloved Ino-chan in the second round and win her over. He wanted to show everyone just how far he had come and not end the life of a shinobi who recognized and respected him. All Lee wanted to know was that Naruto was alive.

The proctor counted to ten inside his head. But at the same time he knew that there was no way that the boy was even conscious. There was also the possibility, and it was a strong possibility, that the shinobi never even survived the attack. However, right as soon as was about to declare the winner, the unthinkable happened. Naruto rose from the rubble that previously surrounded him and stood again as a beaten and battered person. But, he a beaten and battered person who still wanted to fight.

Sakura was happier then she had ever been in her life. She wiped her eyes and turned to face Tayuya, and Tayuya looked like she had just won the lottery. Everyone else however were absolutely stunned. Not only did this shinobi survive the Lotus, but he was willing to get some more.

"I suppose you want to know how I made it out of there?" Naruto asked as Lee nodded to the statement. Naruto held out his left hand, which was scraped and beaten and from his hand came a swirling blue ball of chakra. "By using this as a drill, I switched the point of impact from my body to the ball. Because of that, my body took heavy damage, but not enough to keep me down."

The konoha jonins watching had seen that technique before and surprised them more then anything they had seen before. The technique that Naruto just used, was a technique that his father had not only used, but he invented it and made it and its spin offs famous. How a gennin could use the Rasengan though, was a shocker.

Lee knew that this fight was over. His body, strained in the fight to this point, and completely drained by the use of the Lotus. At the same time, he knew that he had to continue fighting now matter how hopeless the battle seemed. Quitting was a very unyouthful thing.

Naruto wasted no time, and didn't even give Lee a chance to recover. He charged at Lee with the hand that he held a Rasengan and landed the ball of chakra right in the chest of his opponent. Lee spun into the wall and was knocked out completely. Naruto waited the customary ten seconds, but by the time that time had passed, Lee hadn't moved an inch and as such Naruto had won the epic battle.

After being declared the victor, Naruto walked up the stairs and over to where his teammate were, while Lee was taken off in a stretcher. As Lee was going out, he gave the crowd a thumbs up to let all of them know that he was alright. Naruto walked silently passed all the konoha gennin teams and the jonin watching. Some of them openly jeered, mocked, and yelled at him. They told him that he was better off joining his father and taking the beast with him. One thing that nearly every person did though, was glare at him. Only a couple of gennin being Kiba and Sakura were happy to see both competitors alright. Even Gai silently praised this young boy for his respect for his enemies and the way he carried himself around.

When Naruto reached Sakura, she looked at him and with a tear in her eye, told him that he fought very well and she was glad that he was ok.

"Sorry I didn't tell you about me Sakura."

"I was hurt that you never told me," Sakura began. "But I understand why you did. You couldn't compromise your identity."

Naruto looked hurt by what Sakura said and walked away with his head down. He then spoke very softly so that nobody but her could hear "I'm not well liked here. And I don't want people to mistake you as a traitor." Naruto then reached over Sakura's face and wiped a stray tear from her face and tried to walk back to his team. Sakura wouldn't let things end like this though and she didn't care who saw it. She quickly grabbed him by the wrist and turned him around to face her.

"I don't care." She muttered. "Look I was really worried there. I … well … I guess that I'm just glad that you're alright." Sakura then let go of Naruto and let him rejoin up with his team. She laughed on the inside at first, and then out loud as she watched Naruto get pummeled and smothered by his sister.

Ino looked at Sakura though with a worried look in her eye. She had known Sakura for years and even though they were rivals over Sasuke. But now she was worried that Sakura may be getting a little too attached to her new friend. Ino saw the way that they looked at each other in the period for the first exam and through their altercation with him during the second exam in the forest. And she couldn't help but notice the tears in her eyes throughout the whole fight.

Ino had no idea what to make of Sakura and Naruto right now. It was painfully obvious that Sakura was still in love with Sasuke and that would never be in doubt. However, getting too close to an enemy can mean several bad things for the village and Ino knew that she would have to talk to Sakura about this soon. Her clan knew more then any other clan in the village how much betrayal can hurt.

Another person who had no idea what to make of Sakura was the hokage himself. He put Sakura on Sakuke's team for her elite abilities. He didn't see the tears, but she did notice the way that she was looking at Ruto throughout the course of the fight. While it only looked like they were just friends, Fugaku had to make sure. He would need to have Sakura supervised closely for a little while.

The medics over in the ward were having numerous discussions about what to do with Sasuke. Right now, he was only breathing though the technology of Konoha's facilities. In order for him to live again, he needed a new set of lungs. There however were two complications. The first one was size and health of the lungs. Sasuke was an adolescent shinobi. In order for him to recover, he would need lungs from a shinobi near his age. However, many gennin were kept on a light schedule and were rarely sent out into an environment where death was a high risk. Another problem was blood type. Sasuke was a universal doner. However, that meant that that the only body parts he could take were from other universal doners. That also severely limited the amount of possible candidates that Sasuke could receive a lung from.

The question was, how and where they could receive the needed lungs to keep Sasuke as a shinobi of Konoha. Currently, they had no lungs available that would fit into Sasuke's body without causing a complication.

One doctor said that they should find a gennin's body in the forest of death. One that had been either killed or about to be killed and see if they could find a match to Sasuke. While that idea seemed to be pleasing to both sides, it completely went against laws of the Chunin Exams which stated that any corpse found in the Chunin Exams was to be returned to the country of its origin. Should they find a gennin from any other nation and use it for the transplant, Konoha could be hurt and punished by the Alliance.

Right now however, Konoha had no other choice but to completely disregard the rules and proceed with the procedure and hope that they don't get caught.

Sakura watched as the enemy that she met in the forest Shikamaru completely decimate a shinobi from Kumo. That meant that the only people left in the exams who had yet to fight were herself, Kin, Kiba, two gennin from Suna, and a gennin from Kumo who looked hopelessly outclassed.

After the confrontation, she had yet to speak with Naruto. However, she had planned to after the exams were over. Her thoughts were cut short however, when the screen landed next.

Sakura Haruno vs Kin

...

Wow that was my longest fight yet. Probably even longer then Naruto vs Kankuro that I just posted for F, W, and V.

Naruto's identity is finally revealed. Though most of you all probably saw that coming since chapter 2.

For those of you who read both this and F, W, and V, Naruto's bloodline is indeed the exact same. I liked the idea, so that is one thing I carried over.

The idea of using Rasengan has been done before, I realize that. But I don't know where I read it. So if anyone can tell me which story that it was that used it, please let me know because it was a great Naruxsaku fic.

Thank you all for reading Tanebi.

Next chapter: Genjutsu Struggle

Please review.


	7. Genjutsu War

Tanebi

Chapter 7: War of Illusions

Woah. Huge turnout for the last chapter. So let's hear what you all had to say.

Chm01: Thanks a ton man. That was driving me insane.

Adam862: Glad you like it. I always feel that the best ff's are the ones that can make a story seem plausible. That's what I'm trying to create here. As far as the bloodline, I feel that it could be used and would work well for him and not make him insanely powerful, and I'm glad you like it.

Inarealpickle: Uh huh. It's how I could get Naruto in there without being obvious.

Harry foureyes: He's started on mastering it, but not Hirashin. I'm not going to make him that powerful quite yet. As far as Guy defecting, I have really yet to decide. About Sakura, I will address that in my notes as well, but I feel that Kakashi was unable to bring out Sakura's genjutsu potential whereas Kuranai could and so she will be stronger then cannon. It's not that the Alliance is letting them get away with it, more like they don't really know yet.

Zero Sakura Cross: Hey no problem. It's a weak point of mine and I'm glad you pointed it out. I'll work on that. And oh yes they are.

Prague: I had a similar criticism in F, W, and V. I try and describe the way I see something and because of that it seems awkward. Nice suggestion.

Misuryluvsdeath: Thanks man.

Wind 797: Exactly. Strained but nothing permanent. Hehe I won't spoil a thing.

Skytide 101: Awesome. So glad you like it and I hope that you keep enjoying it.

Kaiser Spartan: Yeah, I feel that a positive environment would have done wonders for Naruto. As far as my updates, I'm trying to be faster, but with school and everything I can't really promise anything.

PSI567: Actually I had no idea. For storyline purposes, I needed Sasuke to be O, but I agree that it does fit their personalities. I'm glad that you informed me about this because it's good information. I enjoy your comments.

Krymsom: No that wasn't it, but it sounds like a good read that I'll have to check out sometime.

Dragonshaun9: Thanks a lot. So glad that you all like it.

Wow, a lot of you guys really liked that fight with Naruto and Lee. Now I need to follow it up.

I'm not going to add too much as far as prechapter notes, but I did get the fic that I got the idea for the Rasengan drill. It's "Get Glory in this Hand" by Digifruit, and a shoutout goes Chm01 for pointing that out.

...

Sakura at this moment would rather not fight against the girl from Tanebi wearing the camo pants. Her head right now was a complete mess with everything that had just transpired with Naruto. It was like everything that she once felt that she knew was an outright lie.

Sakura also knew that she had to fight this battle. She had to fight this battle and win so that she could join Sasuke and become a chunin. Ino had won her match earlier and she couldn't afford to fall behind and risk losing Sasuke. For some odd reason though, there was another reason that she wanted to fight. Sakura wanted naruto to watch her match badly. For some reason, she wanted to show him just how strong and competent she really was. This was something that she would need to look into after the exams were over.

Sakura needed some support. Subconciously she looked to where the Tanebi shinobi were, but mostly she was staring down Naruto. Naruto felt her gaze and met it with one of his own. He could see the uneasyness and unrest in her eyes, so he flashed her a quick grin and gave her a head nod.

After the nod, Sakura felt different. It was as if her confidence had returned. In a trance like state, Sakura walked down to the exam arena, and if one looked closely, they would see a tinge of red on her cheeks.

Kin took the time it took for Sakura to get her head together to walk down the stairs. She now stood in the center of the arena and waited for the pinkette to get herself down to the floor. After about thirty seconds of waiting, Sakura made her way down and faced Kin.

"This is gonna be a damn good fight." Tayuya mentioned. "This girl is decent, and I'll give her that. However Kin is no pushover herself. No way Kin loses."

"Not too sure Tayuya." Naruto mentioned. "We know about what Kin can do, but this girl is unique. She's not going to lose I think."

"Usual stakes?" Tayuya asked. Naruto nodded his head and shook his sister's hand.

"Pht. Girl you just lost a bet." Ino commented. "Forehead may not be as good as me or Sasuke-kun, but still she's probably better then that girl down there. I mean had it not been for a sneak attack in the forest, forehead would have taken that girl out."

Tayuya just grunted and looked away from the platinum blond girl. She really didn't want to waste her breath on an inferior gennin, so she was content by just watching and hoping that her friend would be victorious.

The fight was announced to begin, and Kin began throwing a volley of senbon with bells attached to them at Sakura. Sakura was easily able to dodge the volley, but Kin didn't stop. She pulled on strings forcing the bells to ring.

Right away, Sakura felt it. She felt the muscles in her body begin to spasm and caused her to collapse on the ground. She knew that none of the senbon had touched her, so she wasn't injured at all. She also knew that no hidden jutsu beyond the bells. All that left was genjutsu.

Sakura knew that she was caught in the mental trap by the girl. As Kin continued to ring the bells, Sakura began to feel herself get extremely dizzy. She lost all control of her arms and legs, and saw Kin multiplied by the hundreds. What Kin didn't count on though, was Sakura being an expert in genjutsu herself. Kuranai had taught Sakura several ways to escape a genjutsu that had been laid. Kuranai had also taught her something else to do inside of a genjutsu that she would use here to turn the tide of this fight.

The first thing that Sakura did was bite on her lower lip until it bled. The effect released her from the genjutsu somewhat. She could tell that this genjutsu was very powerful because she still slightly under it. Her muscles had relaxed slightly, but at least now she was able to move, and she could see only a single Kin as opposed to the multitudes. That being said, Sakura could not see perfectly straight.

She considered a chakra pulse to break the remaining hold that the genjutsu had over her, but decided against it. With the plan that she had in store for this girl, she would need to save all the chakra that she could.

Kin once again tried to ring the bells, but they seemed to do nothing. For Kin, it seemed like the effects on her opponent were all that they were going to be. _Still though_, Kin thought, _she looks to be suffering greatly. Even without further use of my genjutsu, I should be able to take her down easily._

Kin fired a few senbon at Sakura, but she dodged them all. Kin hadn't even considered that she would be able to dodge her throws quickly. From Kin's perspective, Sakura was barely able to stand up and breathe. For her to dodge the attack as cleanly as she did shouldn't even be possible. She tried again to hit Sakura with another barrage of senbon, but again the girl was able to dodge cleanly.

Tayuya had no idea what was wrong with Kin. Kin was usually so accurate with her senbon throws that her complete lack of aim was astonishing. To her, it looked as if Kin was moving in slow motion. Another thing that puzzled her was just why Kin didn't come right up and fight her head on. Sakura was not in good condition surely, but even then she was well enough to be able to fend off throws.

It was then that it hit Tayuya. Sakura was using a genjutsu on Kin. She was disguising herself to make it appear as if she was more injured then she actually was. That was throwing Kin off her game and forcing her to lose her energy by repeated throwing. That would also explain why Kin seemed to be reacting slow and sloppy. Kin was beginning to get frustrated and that was effecting her accuracy. Tayuya may have thought that this strategy was a bit cowardly, but at the same time, she could see that the logic was perfectly sound.

After completely missing with a large barrage of senbon, Kin decided to go with a more direct approach. She lunged at Sakura with a punch straight at her face, but Sakura easily dodged the attack. She then tried a kick to the face, but again Sakura was able to dodge it.

Kin growled and continued her assault. She now threw a bunch of wildly thrown punches and kicks which easily missed the mark.

"As always with Kin." Lucien said. "She misses a couple of times and then that wild temper of hers gets her angry. She's always been like this."

"Is it just me, or does Kin just look really slow?" Naruto asked.

"You know now that you mention it, she does seem a bit slower then normal. I don't know why though." Tayuya responded.

"Duh, that's all forehead." Ino gloated. "She does this well. She casts a genjutsu on her enemy which delays the amount of light that filters in the eye. As a result, the user then sees things in slow motion. She's essentially a half second behind forehead."

Unknown to Ino, Kin had heard every word. Being a ninja that trained using a sound based genjutsu, Kin was able to hear things much easier then people thought. Her eyes widened as she learned that she was being played for a fool the whole time.

Sakura hit her forehead with her hand at Ino's gloating. Ino could be a good ninja and a good mind at times, yet at the same time, she could be so vain with her gloating. She had basically had her fight in the bag, but now the fight was back in the questionable area.

Kin put her hands into the cross shape and released Sakura's genjutsu. To her surprise, she also was able to notice that Sakura was standing fine and that the effects of her genjutsu were now almost completely gone.

It made sense actually. After Kin stopped ringing the sound of the bells, then the original effect of her genjutsu would be dropped. Thus, over the course of a select period of time then Sakura would completely recover control of her body.

"When did you put the genjutstu on me?"

"Just before I regained control of my body. I double casted a genjutsu. The first one disguised what I looked like. I exaggerated my appearance to maybe frustrate you. Perhaps then you wouldn't notice the second one which the pig over there pointed out so well."

"I see. Perhaps then we could finish this match."

Sakura and Kin then engaged in a taijutsu battle using basic taijutsu. Both girls were not experts by any means, so the taijutsu was not near as exciting as the display shown by Naruto and Lee.

In the exchange, Kin started off with the aggression. She began attacking Sakura with punches and kicks, but never made solid contact. As a result, Kin began to get frustrated again and Sakura was able to capitalize with a single punch to the face which knocked Kin out. Sakura was declared the winner of the match.

Sakura dragged her body up the stairs to the balcony area knowing that she had advanced to the next round. The first thing that she noticed was a look from Tayuya. Tayuya's face was emotionless, but still she could see the other girl give her a nod of approval. Naruto looked over at her and gave her a quick grin before turning away while Ino gloated to Tayuya about how much better is Sakura was then Kin. However, Tayuya looked as if she was going to strangle Ino, and Sakura was tempted to join in on the fun.

Fugaku was pleased at the turnout, but at the same time he was a bit disappointed. He had expected a teammate of his son's to win with a display of dominance that Tayuya showed. Even though she won pretty clearly, she needed to win by tricking her opponent. He was now even more convinced that Kurenai was not the right person to teach his son Sasuke.

The doctors that were working on Sasuke now faced a serious situation. No Konoha gennin had managed to lose their life in the forest that matched the blood type needed to fully transplant a lung. They however found one gennin team from Suna that would have made a perfect match for Sasuke. The only problem with that was the rules of the exam which stated that bodies of fallen gennin in the chunin exams belonged to the country of their origin. This meant that performing the transplant would be completely illegal and Konoha could get hammered if they were to get caught.

One factor that Konoha had going for them was their political position. Their negotiations with Kumo and Iwa had been going very well. With the pull from Kumo and Iwa, they may be able to get off easy from the Alliance. However, should one faction betray them in the Alliance, then Konoha could get hit very hard.

Punishment for what Konoha was about to do would start with a very heavy fine that Konoha would need to pay. Also, Konoha would be unable to promote any gennin to chunin without proper approval from the Alliance, which would harm their military tremendously. Konoha would be put on probation from the Alliance, and would be barred from hosting an exam for the next three years.

Even though they were facing all this pressure, they knew that for their own sakes, they would have to go forward with the operation. They knew what the Alliance would do to Konoha, but what Fugaku would do to the doctors would be just as bad. They just hoped that nobody would figure anything out. Unfortunately for them, a spy was watching over them intently. A spy whose pale eyes saw the entire procedure in extreme detail.

At this point, the amount of competitors was beginning to dwindle. As of now, only Kiba, Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and two gennins from Kumo were left able to compete. Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Lucien, Tayuya, and Naruto were the ones who had advanced at this point as well.

A quick match occurred between Temari and another gennin from Kumo. The match lasted about ten seconds before Temari mercilessly ended the match covering her opponent in a giant tornado. Shikamaru went next and quickly captured the hapless gennin from Kumo into his shadow and forced him to forfeit the match.

That only left two people to compete in the final match. It would be Kiba and Kankuro in the final match of qualifying. Kiba and Akamaru jumped down to the arena while Kankuro took his sweet time walking down the stairs.

The match began and Kiba went in quickly with a punch to the face of Kankuro. Kankuro took the shot right to the face, but it didn't faze the gennin at all. He then reached his arm back and tried to punch at Kiba, but Kiba barely dodged it. He then went in for another attack and again it never even fazed his enemy. Kiba dodged another attack and then retreated to a safe distance.

Kiba took a bit of a break to try to figure out what was wrong with this guy. His taijutsu was his strongest aspect and was almost as good as Sasuke's. For all of his attacks to have no effect was just shocking. It was then that the barking of Akamaru brought him up to something.

The barking that Kiba heard told him that the Kankuro that he was fighting was a fake and that it smelt of wood and the real scent was coming from the bundle on the back of the gennin. Kiba figured that what he was fighting was only some kind of puppet that Kankuro was operating from the back, but the question was how to take Kankuro down without revealing too much.

He didn't want to have to reveal all of the tricks that he had with Akamaru. He would need them for fighting any of the other gennin. But then again, the only way that he could advance was to get around it. Kankuro didn't want to waste any more time and charged at Kiba in full force. He attacked with such a ferousity, that Kiba was barely able to defend himself.

Kankuro was not made to be the aggressor in this scenario. Kankuro is a counter attacker. He excels at turning any opponents aggression against them in a critical manner. What he was doing now, was give the boy Kiba a chance to counter him.

Sure enough, Kiba found an opening. Kankuro was in the middle of his attack, when Akamaru bit Kankuro's wrist. The real Kankuro's wrist. All of a sudden, Kankuro came out of the sack holding onto his wrist heavily. Kiba then rushed passed the puppet and hit Kankuro with a spinning Tsuuga which finished the puppet user off.

Even though he was puzzled, Fugaku called everyone down to the floor of the arena to have them draw lots for the next stage. He explained how the next month would allow all the students to train themselves and get new techniques. With an odd number of nine participating, one person would have to fight four rounds, while the others would need to only fight 3.

The first person to draw was Sakura and she drew a number 1. Kiba drew next and he picked up an 8. The next to go were the team from Tanebi that all passed their matches. Naruto drew a 3, Tayuya drew a 2, and Lucien drew a 7. Temari was slotted with the number 4. Shikamaru drew a 5, and the last person to draw, Ino, got 6. That gave Sasuke the default number of nine.

After getting the correct numbers to the officials, the board was then created. The match ups had Tayuya facing off against Sakura and Naruto against Temari. The winners would face each other and the winner of that match was in the finals. Ino would face Shikamaru, where the winner would face Lucien. But the last match of the first round made Kiba give the biggest grin he could muster. He would square off with Sasuke one on one. That made him happy.

After about another hour, Kushina had another visitor. This time it was Baki, the sensei of the team from Suna.

"Ah, Baki, nice to see you again."

"As always it is a pleasure Kushina-sama. I am curious though as to why you called me here, but Itachi said that you wanted to see me."

"Now now Baki, let's not be so formal. Are you aware of the intelligence I received from one of my spies just a few minutes ago?" Kushina asked.

"No, I am not. What happened?"

"Apparently, Konoha stole the corpse of a Suna gennin found in the Forest of Death. They plan to use his body parts to recreate one of Sasuke Uchiha's lungs."

"WHAT!?" Baki screamed. "How can they do something like this? What are we going to do?"

"Relax Baki. The first thing that I did, was sent a message out to Kumo telling them about all the evidence of everything that Konoha has done through the course of this exam."

"What will that do though?" I mean, negotiations are strong as always in the Alliance, but Konoha and Kumo have been under great conditions as of late. Won't they just turn a blind eye to it?"

"True, but negotiations between us and Kumo have been great as well. Let's just say that their princess is rather fond of a certain person in my ranks. A marriage is currently in the works. I feel that they will gladly listen to our point of view."

"And without the support of Kumo, Suna, Kiri, and numerous smaller villages, Konoha can't bully its way through the Alliance anymore." Baki finished.

"Exactly."

"But won't Konoha be angry about this? Won't it put several of our gennin in danger if they figure out what's going on?"

"Yes they will. That's why we had to limit the number of Suna, Kumo, and Tanebi shinobi."

"I see. That's why you requested that Kankuro blow his fight in the prelims should he fight a Konoha shinobi."

"Yes. Our presence here is very risky. It's also the real reason why I pulled out Itachi's team, and asked Kin, Choji, and Shikamaru to throw their matches should they fight Konoha gennin. We're going to need to be able to withdraw any force from here quickly and work to evacuating any civilians from Tanebi, Suna, and Kumo."

"But if that's the case, then why leave your children's teams in?"

"Naruto needs to show Sasuke up. It would damage the morale of Konoha if they saw Naruto defeat Sasuke on the biggest stage. Lucien's deep powers will allow him to escape danger easily and my daughter scares me. She's so much like me, it's truly frightening."

Baki and Kushina shared a long laugh. "But seriously Baki." Kushina said, with her tone starting to get serious again. "Konoha is up to no good. I feel that there is a good chance after this that they will defect form the Alliance and cause a huge war. Fugaku never did like to live under the rules."

"I'm curious though. Should this thing go to war, who would fight with who?"

"I don't know. Tanebi can fight Konoha now on even terms, but Iwa probably couldn't take both Suna and Kumo. Kiri is always a wild card, but I feel that they will obtain some of the smaller nations whose economy thrives on Konoha. As of now, it looks like we need to free some smaller nations from the grasp of Konoha. Business will start to pick up shortly.

...

Sorry I'm a bit late.

Finally that's over. Now I can get back to the main point of the plot.

I'm happy to be able to progress now. I have a lot that I want to cover and that will most likely be the next few chapters. Then I'll go into the chunin exam finals which will take a while for me to do.

Yes I had the plot twist of the pulling out planned the entire time. I hope that you all liked it. It goes to show that I'm not afraid to go there.

I think that this chapter came out a bit rushed. If so, then sorry.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Surgery Successful?

Please review.


	8. Time Off

Tanebi

Chapter 8: Time Off

So sorry about the delay everyone. Midterms and everything are killers. And the election is over. Congrats on the new president elect. Here come the reviews.

Chm01: Kin was ordered to lose, but Sakura would have won regardless.

Inarealpickle: I have plans for Sasuke. He will have a huge role to play through the whole story as an antagonist.

Zero Sakura Cross: Fugaku is confident of his alliance with Kumo. You'll find out more about that here though. I always felt that Kakashi would do best with Shikamaru and Kurenai would do wonders with Sakura. Shikamaru will have a role here and there, but he won't be a key part. Really? It is? Sweet.

Wind797: I'll go into a lot of the Naruto Sakura relationship here, and the whole Sasuke issue. Thanks for the compliment. Sakura and Tayuya will be an interesting fight.

Kaiser Spartan: I like the compliment. I also like where it is going.

Dragonshaun9: Awesome compliment.

Prague: I actually kept the system that they used in the show. If you recall, it was supposed to be Dosu vs I think Shikamaru, with the winner facing Temari. Also, I've been working earlier so I'm more awake for what I'm writing.

PSI567: You'll see who she gets. It may shock and disturb you deeply though. Nah I'm joking, but it will be revolutionary.

That said, let's get on with the show.

.....................................

Sakura continued to ride along the back of Lucien as he continued to take the girl back to Tanebi. So far the rain had yet to break, and she had been getting carried for hours. She wanted to think that at least one of her teammates would try and come back for her, but that seemed unlikely. Afterall, Sasuke was the leader of the mission, and there was no way that he would come after her. Why would he? He was the reason that she had gotten captured in the first place.

They found a cave along the road and decided to camp out. They wondered what they were going to do about Sakura, when Hinata suggested that she would be the one to watch over her and make sure that she doesn't try to get away. And so they sat with Sakura facing away from the campfire and the group, looking out at the rainy sky.

"Hey. Want something to eat?" Hinata asked. Sakura didn't answer to the girl at all. She just looked out at the rain. Hinata then took a seat right next to the pink haired girl. "I think that we met once before didn't we?"

"Yeah we did. After the preliminary rounds of the chunin exam all those years ago. You were still recovering from the attack on you, so I don't know if you can fully remember what I look like." Sakura responded emotionlessly.

"Oh that's right. You were the one who came in with Naruto-kun to see me. You were the only one from Konoha who wanted to see me that actually left alive."

"I can't say that I'm surprised that more people tried to kill you, with your clan and all."

"It's okay though, Neji nii-san, Gaara-kun, and Naruto-kun all protected me." Sakura frowned at the mention of Gaara's name. He was the one who seriously jeopardized the career of Sasuke. Even though now she knew the truth about him, it was a painful time in her life."

"What does Tanebi want with me?" Sakra asked.

"I don't know. It's tough to tell what's going on. But I will tell you what I know. Some time ago, about the time of the chunin exams three years ago, Kushina-sama obtained a suspicious document. She spotted some … missing information and just recently, Lucien was sent on assignment to retrieve the document's missing parts. He was also ordered to capture you if given the chance. I really don't know what was in the missing scrolls or how you relate to them. I do know though that you won't be harmed or anything." Hinata said.

"How do you know that?" Sakura wondered.

"Because Naruto-kun told us before the mission if anyone tried anything, they would be killed on site no questions asked. To make things worse, Tayuya said anyone who tried anything would be instantly castrated. Even Kushina-sama is scared to death of them and she's their mother."

For the first time since being captured, Sakura let out a small giggle. She'd never met anyone like this Hyuuga girl. She was so nice and sweet, yet calm and brave. She had such a demeanor that would make her very tough to hate.

"I don't believe it." Lucien said. "She can get a prisoner to talk and laugh as if they were friends for ages and they just met. I thought that only an Uzumaki could do that."

"That's Hinata for you." Tenten said with a smile. "She just can bring out the best in people. How else do you think that she ended up with a guy like Gaara."

"It doesn't hurt that she was friends with Naruto for so long. She's got Naruto's bravery, Tayuya's brain, and her own gentle nature. I'm still shocked that she's engaged to Gaara." Neji said.

"Oh come on Neji. You're just mad that you can't threaten him." The group laughed at that before Lucien turned his attention elsewhere back to the entrance of the cave.

Neji took the hint and activated his Byukugan. He confirmed that they had been spotted and that a battle was imminent.

(Back to the past)

Sakura rushed over to the hospital. She had heard that Sasuke had just gotten lung transplant and that the surgery was a complete success. However, she still wanted to be at his bedside. She felt that it was her duty as a teammate and love for her to be at his bedside.

When Kurenai originally told her about it a few minutes ago, the first thing that she did was cry and worry about Sasuke's health. It's not everyday when the love of your life needs a lung transplant after all. It took a few minutes of talking, but her sensei was able to calm her down and asked her if she wanted to see Sasuke. Sakura said yes, but she wanted to do it alone and Kurenai agreed.

When Sakura arrived at Sasuke's room, the first thing she saw was Ino looming over Sasuke's bedside already. She also noticed that there was an extravagant bouquet of red roses in a vase overlooking the raven haired boy. "Hey there pig."

Ino immediately turned around to face the pinkette. Her face looked really wet and there were streaks of tears going down her face. Obviously, Ino was worried about him as well. "Hey forehead. What took you so long to get here?"

"I just heard from Kurenai-sensei. When did you hear about it?"

"My father told me about a half hour ago." The two girls then reached a silence overlooking Sasuke for a few minutes before Ino broke up the silence.

"It's hard to believe isn't it? What that monster from Suna did."

"It is. But you know, I think that he was simply mad. Mad at Sasuke-kun for being the Hokage's son. Maybe he wanted revenge on Konoha for what the Hokage did to that Hyuuga girl."

"No that's not the reason. I mean, look at who he was defending. A Hyuuga, and member of one of the worst clans in the world. Nobody can love someone like that. And certainly not enough to harm Sasuke-kun. No, he's just a monster."

"I don't know." Sakura began. "I mean I admit that I thought that at first, but after thinking about it more I think that he really can love her. I mean, she had to have been only a baby when the Hyuuga defected. Certainly it's not her fault."

"People don't change Sakura. You can't change your blood and her blood is one of the traitors. Same as that Naruto boy. His blood is the same of the foul man who was named hokage. He can't change that."

"Even so, why is it that the evil can't be loved? When Yondaime died, so many people were sad as if they loved him."

"They were sad because they thought that he was good. When they saw what he truly was, they didn't like him any more. No one mourns the wicked Sakura."

"Even his wife? Naruto after all was the son of the hokage. He is also the son of Tanebi's leader which means that his mother is alive. Also from what I heard from Tayuya, she still loves him deeply and so do the kids."

"They love him because they don't acknowledge the truth. If they realized what a bastard that Yondaime was, they would see him the way that we see him now. You talked to that Naruto bastard way too much Sakura. It corrupted your mind."

After that, both girls continued to sit at the bedside of Sasuke. Sometimes, Ino would change a wet cloth over Sasuke's forehead, or Sakura would get up to get the two girls something to drink. After about an hour, Ino started up the conversation again.

"What are you going to do about Tayuya? I mean, she looked really impressive during the prelims. How are you going to fight a kunoichi like that?"

"It's all about match ups Ino. Kurenai-sensei taught me that. Tayuya is one who bases her fighting style off of a strong taijutsu base, which makes the user very vulnerable to a genjutsu attack. My genjutsu as things stand now should be more then enough to deal with her. What about you? You're fighting that Nara."

"If anyone knows about the Nara, it's the Yamanaka. My father should have plenty of strategies on how to deal with them."

"But what about his strategy. Wouldn't he do the same to you?"

"No. Tanebi should be far enough away that he won't get enough time to prepare. I'll put that clan in their place no problem."

"You know Ino, something's bothering me too." Sakura said.

"What do you mean?"

"Those Tanebi and Suna shinobi looked so dominant in the matches that they won. Even in the matches that they lost, they still looked pretty good."

"What are you getting at?"

"It's just, for Choji to lose focus the way that he did in such a crucial moment, that sensei coming in to stop that Suna ninja from beating Sasuke-kun before the match was called, then for that Suna ninja to fracture his wrist from a bite from Akamaru, even the way that girl I beat seemed to lose control. It's almost like they threw the matches each time."

"You're thinking too much forehead. Why in the world would Tanebi and Suna want to throw matches and make Konoha look good?"

"Maybe you're right. I guess with everything that has happened, I'm just overthinking everything."

Kiba on the other hand did not expect the reception that he got at his own house. He expected his mother to be proud of him for not only sticking up for the clan, but for also advancing in the exams into the finals. He couldn't have been more wrong in judging the way that his mother would react.

The moment that he announced that he and Akamaru were home, his mother called him into the clan meeting room for a talk.

"Kiba, what the hell were you thinking attacking Sasuke-kun like that? He's the son of the hokage for Kami's sake and you punch him."

"Mom, he insulted the clan and blamed our performance in the exams to that point squarely on me. He called me a bitch and called the clan nothing but useless. I did what I had to do."

"Bullshit Kiba. That's not what happened at all. The truth is that you got jealous of Sasuke-kun for everything. His power, status, and the fact that he can get any girl in the village that he wants. Hitting him the way you did and sabotaging his performance on the exams in inexcusable. Do you realize that you could be stripped of your rank and that the entire clan could get disgraced?"

"Disgraced? You talk about disgrace? How about everyday hearing about how inferior the Inuzuka are? How about having a teammate who hates your guts because you're not born of royal blood? How about having a person treat you like absolute shit, and then when you finally stick up for yourself, your mother defends him?" Kiba yelled back.

"Shut up Kiba. Regardless of how Sasuke-kun talks to you, if it's even true, we need to accept it for the sins we committed against the Uchiha for not rising up with them. Your actions during the exam ruined twelve years of reconciliation with the Uchiha clan. Do you realize that I almost had Hana engaged to Sasuke-kun before you acted so hastily? Thank Kami that the Uchiha didn't call it off or else you would be banished from the clan."

"I nearly ruined it!? You should thank me for almost not letting Hana go through that. I can't even believe that you would risk putting Hana through that. She's your daughter for Kami's sake and you want to ship her off to the local jackass?"

"Enough. One more word out of you Kiba at all, and I'm stripping you of your ninja license and banishing you from the clan. You got off easy for what you've done. Go upstairs now!" Tsume said, ending the argument once and for all.

Kiba couldn't believe it. His own mother not only didn't believe him about what really happened with Sasuke, but also that even if she did believe him, she would side with Sasuke. Not only that, but she wanted to marry his own sister off to the same person who thought that his clan was the lowest of the low.

After he got to his room, he wanted to punch something, anything. Rage was falling off of Kiba like nothing he'd ever felt, and he thought that he might go insane if something didn't happen soon. After a few more minutes, Hana walked in the room.

"Hey, I heard about what happened with Sasuke." Hana said.

"What, are you going to tell me what a disgrace I am like mom did. Because if you are, I don't want to hear a word of it." Kiba nearly yelled.

"Not at all. You know, I teamed up with an Uchiha too. I went through the same thing that you are going through now. Even the whole part about how we need to respect the wishes of the Uchiha bullshit that mom likes to say."

"So what will you do about your engagement with Sasuke?"

"WHAT?!!!! I'M ENGAGED TO WHO?" Hana screamed as Kiba backed up about five steps.

"It was mom's idea. She said that in order to reconcile with the Uchiha, she wanted to marry you off to Sasuke. That was why she threatened to strip me of my ninja license."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT MOM WOULD DO THIS TO ME! WHO THE HELL DOES THAT WOMAN THINK SHE IS?"

Silence didn't come easily that night in the Inuzuka household. It was like trying to listen to a marathon of The View. As a result of that argument, Hana was given a challenge by order of the Hokage. It was said that if she was able to kill off the Hyuuga girl, she would be able to get out of her possible engagement. She never came back to the clan house and presumed to be killed.

It was two weeks after that incident, and Kiba's resentment of his mother and the Uchiha clan grew. He was still under house arrest by the clan matriarch, but that never stopped him from giving himself the training course of his life. At this point, he just wanted to permanently disfigure Sasuke in ways that nobody could even think of.

In that same amount of time, Sasuke had yet to wake up, and Sakura and Ino rarely left by his side. Kurenai kept asking Sakura if she wanted to train for the final rounds, but she always declined. She felt, no, she knew that her place was at Sasuke's side. The only time she left, was for Hana's funeral because she was like a sister to the pinkette.

The line that was fed to Sakura about Hana, was that she had been sent out on a mission and killed by foreign shinobi. She could tell that there were several holes in the argument, but had no idea what the holes could have been. Another thing that concerned her, was that the body had never been found. She wanted to ask Kiba what he knew, but she wasn't allowed to see him.

It was now lunch time for the two girls and it was Sakura's turn to get food from the cafeteria downstairs. While she was walking down the hallway, she was greeted by someone that she never expected to see again. Naruto.

"Hey Sakura. What are you doing here?" Naruto said. He greeted the girl with a wide grin. Sakura was extremely happy to see Naruto. The last few weeks had been an essential hell for the girl and she knew that Naruto was very good at making Sakura feel good.

"I'm tending to Sasuke-kun. He's still recovering from his match against that Suna guy. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Hinata-chan's getting out tomorrow. But I won't be able to see them off because I'm training for the finals. How's your training coming?"

"Good good," Sakura lied. She knew that Naruto had enough on his plate already and she didn't want to worry him unnecessarilly. Naruto seemed to see right through what Sakura was saying, but didn't call her up on it. "Things are going great."

"Awesome. Would you like to meet Hinata-chan? I'm sure that the two of you would get along?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I'm picking up lunch right now for Ino and myself. Plus I need to get back to taking care of Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura, this is a hospital. People get paid to take care of patients. I'm sure that Sasuke would be alright for about a half hour. Go eat with your friend and if you feel like it go and meet with Hinata when you're done." Naruto then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pass with the Tanebi emblem on it. "If you decide to visit, present this pass to the guards in front of the international security corridor. They will escort you to her room."

Sakura told him that she would consider it, but doubted that she would. She had no real desire to meet with a Hyuuga anyway, but kept the pass just in case. She then left to go meet Ino for the lunch inside of Sasuke's room.

Over lunch, she still mulled over the thoughts about meeting this girl. While everything in her logical brain told her not to do it, it was as if another part of her wanted to do it. Like a giant inner version of herself was telling her to see this girl so that she could confirm everything that she knew about the Hyuuga. She was so deep in thought, that she couldn't understand a word about what Ino was saying. Well, it was normal of her to tune out the blond, but this time at least she had an excuse.

After they ate, Sakura excused herself and said that she really needed to train for her match. In actuality though, she was going to go and meet young Hinata Hyuuga. She was actually shocked to find out what kind of person she really was.

When she walked in, she saw every pair of eyes in the room lock on to her. She remembered Neji and Tenten from the confrontation that they had earlier in the exams. Tenten looked confused, while Neji remained calm and collected. She also noticed Gaara in there giving her a look that meant death if Sakura would dare do anything wrong. She saw the one known as Itachi there too. Itachi was giving her a calculating look that creeped Sakura out. Sakura recognized that gaze as the same one that Sasuke used whenever he was scoping out an enemy. She saw Naruto who looked beyond glad that Sakura had shown up. The last set of eyes that she saw were Hinata's. She seemed startled to see the pinkette, yet glad for some reason. It took Sakura a while to realize this, but she had nothing prepared to say to the girl and the silence was awkward.

"Hello. I'm sorry, we never met before. I'm Hinata." Hinata said in a very soft and meek voice as she stuck her hand out to shake the hand of the Konoha kunoichi.

"Uh, hi. I'm Sakura. Pleased to meet you." Sakura and Hinata spent a few minutes talking to each other about certain things such as what things were like growing up, how their villages were, and other such small talk. It was pretty odd for Sakura. The only other girl that she talked to was Ino and those talks never stayed civil for very long. Hinata was different though. Even though the topics were very general, it had a certain sense of honesty and respect instead of competition and unrest that she had in her talks with Ino.

She also noticed the group start to look at her differently. Tenten went from startled to a bit happy, Neji was still calculating, but doing it with a smile as was Itachi. Gaara was ... well at least Naruto seemed to be enjoying himself.

After a little bit longer of talking, Sakura excused herself and told the group that she had to get back to training and Naruto volunteered to walk her out.

"That was really nice. I mean, we've been here for weeks and you're the first Konoha person to see her that didn't try to kill her. I appreciate it." Naruto told her.

"It's like you said, Hinata was only a child when everything happened. Why should I hold a grudge against her?" Sakura answered.

"Well since you did that, let me repay you."

"How do you intend to do that?" Sakura asked.

"I know that you haven't been training. It's kind of obvious that you've spent every day the past two weeks hovering over Sasuke. To repay you, I'll show you Tayuya's training grounds right now."

"I think I'll be good to go. I mean, genjutsu beats taijutsu so I have the advantage. Plus, I was able to beat that girl Kin, so I should be fine."

"You don't understand. Kin let you win. It was an order from my mother herself." Sakura looked stunned. She had a feeling that something was up, but didn't think that Naruto would outright say it. "Based on what I saw, if you fought Kin if she was trying to win, it would be a coin flip. My sister however is in a completely different league then Kin is. If you fought her now, well, I don't want to see what she may do."

"How bad is it?" Sakura asked.

"Come with me and I'll show you." Sakura agreed reluctantly. She had no idea why, but for some reason, she felt so comfortable whenever Naruto was around her. She knew that time was short as well, so she was really not surprised when Naruto offered to carry her. She knew how fast he was and it seemed like a good idea.

After the two walked for about ten minutes, they came to a clearing where Tayuya was squared off against Lucien. Tayuya took out her flute and began to play a tune. Suddenly Sakura felt her hearing get much better. She could hear birds that she rarely ever heard and it was nice to hear. She then saw Tayuya pull something out of her pocket and start to throw it on the ground. Quickly reacting, Naruto covered up Sakura's ears before a defining crash was heard.

"What was that?" Sakura asked. "We were 100 feet away and that was the loudest thing that I ever heard even with the muffler."

"That's one of her skills. She uses genjutsu to mess with certain parts of the brain. In that case, your hearing improved just so that her bang bomb would deafen you temporarily. She can do every sense in your body without you realizing it."

"But if it's a normal genjutsu then shouldn't I be easily able to break it?"

"Normally yes. However, her genjutsu power is multiplied by her flute. The power and ability need to break her genjutsu is equal to the average ANBU in ability. Not only that, but she can also change whichever body part that she wants to. With you focused on your new handicap, she focus' in on and finishes you off with taijutsu. Just watch."

Sakura watched as the two began to engage in a full out taijutsu brawl. She saw how Tayuya was able to twist and contort her body and make the other person as uncomfortable as possible. She knew that Lucien had to be at least decent in taijutsu, and Tayuya was giving him a run for her money.

"I'm screwed. There's no way that I can beat someone like this." Sakura said. She was literally shaking and could not stop at all. She had never been so scared in her entire life.

"It will be rough, but she has weaknesses too. I can't tell you them, but they are there if you can find and are able to exploit them, you may just win. However, you need to train hard. You have only two weeks left." Naruto said as he reached over and gave the girl a slight squeeze on the shoulder. It comforted Sakura to know that someone truly believed in her despite the fact that she seemed to be going up against the ultimate kunoichi.

That was the last encounter that Sakura had with Naruto for a long time. In fact, that was the last discussion that Sakura had with the boy until the day of the exams. What he did in those minutes, was show her what she needed to see and tell her that she had a shot. Even though she knew that he was lying, it still felt nice to know that he cared enough about her to show her what she was up against and she never forgot it.

(Present)

The team that captured Sakura now got together and stood alongside each other at the mouth of the cave. They were waiting on the people who were on their tails. Sakura was stunned to see Kurenai, Kiba, and Gai as the ones outside the cave. She was even more stunned to see Sasuke.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Kurenai asked.

"Sensei, Kiba, you came for me." Sakura cried.

"No, I'm here for him." Sasuke said pointing at Lucien. "You got us last time but now we outnumber you. It's finally time for payback after all these years."

"Oh really?" Lucien asked. "If that's the case then maybe our backup should come up then." As he spoke, five shadows appeared on the ground. When the first shadow emerged, it was an older blond woman with a Kumo headband on. Her eyes shone a piercing blue, and her braid went down to her back. She wore a short sleeved shirt that was black on top and white on the bottom. Her hands were taped and her black pants were held up by a white belt.

"I see." Kurenai said. "The famous Hellcat I presume. Our chase for you is what took us to Kiba in the first place. It makes sense that you would be backup for you cohorts."

"And you are the ones on my back for the past few days. Allow me to introduce myself. Yugito Nii at your service. Also known as the Hellcat of Kumo and sentinel for the Tanebi Alliance."

"Who's the other one?" Kurenai asked.

Out from the shadows stepped the other woman. She was a brunette the same age as Yugito. She wore a white overcoat that went up to the midpoint of her neck, but left her arms in the open. She had a tattoo on her upper arm and her elbows were taped. On her face, were two red streaks below her eyes and at her side were three growling ninja hounds.

Kiba could not believe his eyes, and Sakura froze in complete shock. In front of them was the presumed dead Hana Inuzuka.

......................................

Wow that took me a while to get up and get it the way I wanted it. I wanted to go back to the original story that I had, before flash forwarding back to where I started.

I will explain more about the sentinels and what their significance is after the chunin exams are over. But, yes Yugito is one of them.

I realized that I rushed the whole Hana thing, but this is something that I needed out in the open. Consider it a teaser of sorts for what is to come.

The issue between Sakura and Hinata I also needed. Sakura needs a female driving force so to speak if she is to fully defect.

No, the flashbacks aren't over yet. I still have the finals and the leading into the war before I go into the timeskip. From there, I will explain the original mission and the events that led to Sakura's kidnapping. If you want to look at things in a part sense, the background and early events of Sakura's kidnapping are 1, then the timeskip to where Sakura fully defects to Tanebi will be part 2. The conclusion will be part 3, but it will all go here. I'm a bit confused by what I just wrote.

If it looks like I'm rushing the Naruto Sakura romance, I apologize. To clear it up now, Sakura is intrigued by Naruto and sees him as a friend. Any and all romance between the two will be reserved for a later date.

Next chapter will have a little more on the bigger scale with more of Kushina and Fugaku before starting off the chunin exam finals. I don't know yet if I will include the fight, or just the buildup before the cat fight

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next chapter (maybe): Cat fight, Pink vs Red

Please review.


	9. Catfight

Tanebi

Chapter 9: Catfight

Welcome back everyone. This past week has been brutal, but anyway let's start the reviews.

Wind797: I'm embarrassed to say this, but I never thought about Killer Bee. But since you mentioned it, I should use him. I'm glad that you like it.

Miseryluvsdeath: Ask and you shall receive.

Dragonshaun: Awesome comment. It means that I'm doing my job.

Chm01: Thanks. I hope you keep liking it.

Harry Foureyes: Actually, what I'm doing in that scene is setting up future match ups. The only defection decided at this point is Sakura. Everyone else is still up for grabs. I'll go into a bit more of Lucien and Sasuke and how that mess gets started in a few chapters. Don't worry, I thought the same thing when writing that chapter. I'll do a little of it here, and maybe a bit in the next chapter. I'll try to cut the tournament down to four chapters. Then I'll talk about the politics of the defection and how that comes up, before going full out into the present.

Draklin: Thanks. I don't like rushed romance.

Emporer soul: Thanks. Hope you continue to like it.

Prague: I wanted to give Hana a motive. Maybe though I could have chosen a better one.

Kaiser Spartan: Here's the update. You'll see how the fight plays out, and I think that you'll like how it does turn out.

Inarealpickle: Yeah it was kinda obvious. Trust me though, not all my twists will be that projected. Kiba may defect later, however now I am actually setting up a match up. After all, even the best fight is nothing without a good build up. You did make a good point about Sakura needing an influence before fully defecting.

Zero Sakura Cross: I made the whole thing confusing for a reason. In the build up leading to the present, I will show a story about the Uchiha, Moderates, and Hyuuga. That will explain everything about why a few of the clans allied where they did, why Sasuke hates Kiba so much, why the Yamanaka never defected alongside the other clans, and much more.

I've been getting a lot of comments about Kiba possibly defecting and I answered that in a few reviews, but I'm going to set the record straight. It's not in Kiba's character to defect easily. Now, the sight of his sister will shock him, but not enough to make him defect, YET.

In the fight, you'll see a few new match ups start to develop. One such one will be Kiba and Hana. I have not decided yet to see if Kiba will defect after the rivalry ends, but with all the support I'm getting for it, I will probably go that route. However, like main romances, I won't rush a defection of a main character. Hope that clears a few things up.

Now, let's get started.

.............................

Kiba couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was a girl that he had thought to have been dead for years. He assumed that his dear sister and her canine companions had been gone forever, and yet here she stood. She was dressed in Tanebi attire and a headband with the Tanebi emblem.

Sasuke was livid. Here he had finally tracked down one of the three people that he hated most in the world and he was finally going to settle the score, yet it was interrupted by an ambush. Also, that the ambush was led by a member of the Inuzuka clan and a girl who he was to be married to, before she decided to try and get out of it.

Kurenai had to think fast. Her target was originally the girl from Kumo. The sentinel Hellcat. Somehow in her quest, she met up with a beaten Kiba and Sasuke, and got sidetracked. Now she had every disadvantage. Number 1, Tanebi had the shinobi completely surrounded. Number 2, they had superior numbers. Advantage 3, they had a captive. If Kurenai wanted to get her team out of this mess, she needed to come up with the plan of a lifetime.

_This is bad. We're not prepared for this and Sakura is out of commission. It looks like that Hyuuga girl is going to be guarding her, but even then they outnumber us. Plus, Kiba is completely out of it and Sasuke is drained from his last fight and the chase. I know that Gai and I are not able to take them out. As much as I hate to admit it, saving Sakura seems like a lost cause at the moment. _

"Gai," Kurenai ordered, "we need to get out of here. This is a fight that we can't win."

Sakura was shattered. She believed that her sensei had come to rescue her, yet here she was abandoning her. Abandon, a word that Sakura has gone through so many times in the past day. First her team and now her sensei. Never in her life had she felt so alone. She put her head down to try and hide the tears that started to form. Hinata put her hand on Sakura's shoulder, and that made her feel a tiny bit better.

Sasuke had enough of waiting and went right after Lucien. He charged right after him with sharingan blazing and his hands moving to execute a fire ninjutsu.

_No._ Kuranai thought. "Sasuke stop! Sakura is still in the cave and a fireball at that range could be lethal!" Kurenai shouted.

Sasuke never got time to complete it, as he got ambushed by one of the Inuzuka dogs accompanied by Hana. Akamaru immediately went him, but he was tackled by the other two parts of the trio and taken out of the battle. Kiba went to the aid of Akamaru, but the blond Yugito was much too fast for him to handle and quickly took him out.

Sasuke had finally broken free of the dog, but it was too late as Neji was right on Sasuke. In a scenario that was all too familiar, Sasuke could not keep his footing in the rain and muddy ground and was easily taken care of by the more agile Hyuuga.

Gai tried to rescue Sasuke, but Yugito had already dispatched Kiba and moved to intercept. Gai and Yugito then engaged in a flurry of taijutsu with Gai having the slight advantage. It didn't last long though, when Tenten began to fire weapon after weapon at Gai.

Kurenai had enough and tried to unleash her flurry of genjutsu, but Tayuya broke the genjutsu quickly. As Kurenai tried to launch a psysical attack of her own, Sasame tangled her in a web of chakra. Within literal seconds, Kurenai and her team had been completely wiped out.

"Listen, we don't want you. We want Sakura." Kuranai said.

"Really?" Lucien responded. "Because the way I see it, you had your chance to get her back before. Maybe Sasuke over there remembers my little offer?"

"What offer? What are you talking about?" Kurenai asked, while Sasuke just growled.

"Oh so you don't know? Let me tell you then, Sasuke over there had Hinata as a hostage and was about to kill her. However, Sasame took Sakura over there as a hostage. The deal was, you get Sakura and we get Hinata, but Sasuke didn't like that idea too much and tried to kill her immediately at the risk of his own teammates life."

"What?" Kuranai asked shocked.

"Yes. Why not ask Sakura over there? I'm sure that she would confirm it."

Kuranai looked over to Sakura and saw the girl look completely dejected. It was a look that Kuranai usually saw when Sasuke had rejected the girl, but this one took it to a whole new level. The look on Sakura's face confirmed the story.

"So tell me, what are you willing to give up for the girl?" Lucien demanded.

"Me. Take me and give Sakura back." Kuranai asked. Lucien smiled a genuine smile before answering.

"No. I can't. Orders are orders after all." Kuranai just looked downtrodden that her only proposal was rejected. "It's good to know though that there are some noble souls still in Konoha. I bet knowing that you didn't abandon Sakura will help her get through the rejection by the Uchiha over there." Lucien said and then ordered Sasame to release her hold over Kurenai.

"Let's go team. We're late and we need to get the girl back to Tanebi. Thanks for the help Yugito."

"Wait!" Kuranai yelled. "What do you plan to do with us?"

"Nothing." Lucien responded. "Taking or killing you would do nothing. But maybe you could take this as a reminder. Don't mess with the sentinels, or else you may pay for it with your life."

(Past)

Sakrua had trained hard the past month with her sensei, but she was still unsure as to whether or not she could beat Naruto's sister Tayuya. Kuranai had given her an exercise that was at least some defense to Sakura against Tayuya's genjutsu. What Sakura did, was learn to channel her chakra to all of her different senses and use them as a buffer. So far, she had yet to master the exercise, but it was still much better then nothing.

At the finals, she saw the line up of Tanebi shinobi stretching and getting themselves ready to go. Naruto and his team stood still, just taking in the moment. Shikamaru was laying on his back and staring at the clouds without a care in the world, and Temari was leaning against her fan. Ino was staring at Sasuke, but in thought about the training with her father and whether or not she could beat a Nara. It was the first time in her life that Ino had been in the same place as Sasuke but completely ignored him. Speaking of Sasuke, he was standing proud in the center of the ring and ready to roll. Kiba was just leaning against the wall, glaring at Sasuke the whole time.

Inside the box of the Hokage, Fugaku looked proud to host the chunin exams in his home nation, but a bit nervous about the woman sitting on his left. Kushina had not even attempted to disguise herself. However, she did have her own security detail entailing both Kakashi and Jiraiya. On his left, the Kazekage sat there with his head covered, with Gaara's sensei as his security detail.

The proctor called up the first two participants Sakura and Tayuya, and everyone else cleared out. "Tayuya is your daughter is she not Kushina?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes she is Fugaku. It would be very difficult for that girl to even come close to beating her. You must have seen her dominance at the qualifiers though."

"I did. Though don't count out Sakura. I put her on a team with my son for a reason. She is one of the best and only deserves to be put near the best."

"Hah, putting a team together of only the most "elite". You haven't changed a bit Fugaku. Putting the best together with no regard for the essentials of teamwork, coexistence, and whatnot. Typical Uchiha attitude."

"Oh, and you did better Kushina? You did the same thing, putting your siblings on the same team as a child with amazing abilities."

"Yes, and just who was it that should have gotten their team disqualified in the second exam for starting a fight? If you had any foresight at all, you wouldn't have put an Inuzuka with a self-centered nut case like your son."

"How dare you Kushina. Sasuke is a terrific shinobi and has a great attitude. Keep in mind Kushina that you are in my village and you will treat me with respect."

"Oh, and your shinobi have treated me with respect? Numerous attacks on Hinata, a defenseless gennin."

"I knew nothing about those."

"LIAR!!" Kushina yelled. "Those shinobi were ordered to attack her by you. We even have witnesses to prove it. Expect the Alliance brass to hear about this."

"Now now my fellow leaders," The Kazekage said, "let's not disrupt this momentous occasion over something like this."

"You're right lord Kazakage," Kushina responded. "I was out of line."

Fugaku didn't respond. Instead he smirked internally. _Go ahead Kushina. Report it. Your cause will __only get overridden. With us, Iwa, Kumo, and some small villages as our allies, any vote going through the Alliance will tip in our favor. Won't she be surprised to hear about the engagement. Reports say that Kumo's princess said that she couldn't wait to become an Uchiha. Their union will start the beginning of our rule of the Alliance and before long, we will crush the Alliance and take control of everything._

"You know, I hope that you enjoyed my genjutsu session. Tell me, just what did my brother tell you about me?" Tayuya asked to Sakura's surprise.

"How did you know I was there?"

"Simple, I detected you. Your chakra signals were barely covered and only my brother knew where I was training. I'm not mad though. In fact, you might even come close to landing a punch on me. After all, hardly any girls in Tanebi can keep up with me."

Sakura was now getting even more nervous about the fight. She knew that the older gennin was better then her. She had personally seen Tayuya's dominance and skill and knew that she was in for a rough match. She started to shake in her shoes, but then she looked up to the contestant box and met Naruto's gaze. She knew that he would watch this fight closely and it would be very important for her to look good in his eyes. That did the trick as now Sakura felt a lot more confident about her chances.

"What do you think?" Lucien asked Naruto.

"Sakura has worked hard over the last two weeks. That should be enough to make this fight much more interesting. However, I don't think she'll be able to win without a miracle."

"Are you kidding?" Ino said. "This is a match up mismatch. Forehead is a genjutsu user which beats a taijutsu user. She'll win no problem." Lucien just laughed.

"Tell me, what is a genjutsu users weakness?" Lucien asked.

"Ninjutsu. And Taijutsu beats genjutsu. What's your point?" Ino asked.

"Correct. Tayuya is not a primary taijutsu user as you believe. Taijutsu is her secondary skill that she developed to cover her weakness of ninjutsu."

"But even so, no gennin in Konoha can match Sakura in a genjutsu contest. What makes you think that a gennin from Tanebi can?" Ino asked.

"No chunin in Tanebi can best Tayuya in a genjutsu contest. What makes you think that a gennin from Konoha can?" Lucien countered. Ino had no response. She knew that she really had no point and that if Lucien was right, then Sakura was in serious trouble.

The match started and Tayuya shot off like a rocket at Sakura. Sakura tried to defend and dodge against the flurry of attacks, but Tayuya had Sakura on the complete defensive. Sakura tried to turn the tide of the match by casting her delay genjutsu on her opponent.

For a small while it worked, and Sakura had started to reverse the course of the match. The advantage however, only lasted for a few moments before it was broken by Tayuya, and the fiery red head was back on the attack.

Tayuya attacked unmercifully on the pinkette. She got some good hits in on Sakura's ribs and face. After a few shots, Tayuya connected on a cross that sent Sakura flying into the wall. Tayuya wanted to capitalize and finish off the other girl, so she sprinted in and tried to tackle the other girl. Sakura was able to get away at the last second, but Tayuya didn't crash into the wall like she had hoped. Instead, she climbed up the wall and jumped off about two yards away from the other girl.

Sakura was in a bad spot. It was as if she was still caught in Kin's genjutsu, only this time the effects were real. Her ribs ached, and she thinks that she may have broken a few. Her face was bruised and her left eye was swollen shut.

She also had no plan of attack. All she had for offense was her primary genjutsu, but that was already broken by the other girl. Not only that, but with her ribs broken, her mobility was hindered by a wide margin. She had no idea what to do from here and was on the cusp of unconsciousness.

"Wow, she's really getting hammered huh?" Lucien asked. "You think that we should get in there and stop this before something horrible happens?"

Naruto was conflicted. He knew that he couldn't stop this match. At the same time, he felt horrible having to watch his new friend got pummeled. It was too tough to take, so he just turned around. "We can't stop this. You know that. Tayuya won't do anything serious but still ..."

"What's with you two?" Ino yelled. "You're just going to let forehead die like this?"

"Tayuya won't kill her." Lucien told her. "She won't go that far."

"Oh, and what makes you so sure?"

"Because if my sister had planned on killing Sakura, she would have done so already. She's proving a point to both Sakura and you." Naruto replied pointing at Ino.

"Me? What did me and forehead do that we need to get taught this?"

"How much time did you spend training in this past month, and be honest?" Naruto asked.

"I spent a good week and a half training hard with my dad. I'm prepared enough to beat my opponent." Ino said confidently.

"That's pathetic." Lucien responded. "A week and a half when you were given a month. How serious are you about being a kunoichi anyway? Shikamaru is the best tactician we got and he only took three days off of training total. In that time he planned for every possible plan. Not only that, but he also refined his techniques and he's much better because he spent his time wisely. I bet you wasted it with that Uchiha boy."

"Time spent with Sasuke-kun is never wasted and I'm tired of you guys treating me like some kind of lost puppy. If I'm ever in real danger, Sasuke-kun will protect me." At this point, something inside Naruto just snapped. As if the dam holding all of his emotions erupted and Ino was the target.

"And where is he now? What is Sasuke doing to stop this match? I'll tell you, nothing. He can't help her and he can't stop Shikamaru from doing that to you! Take a good look, because what's happening now to Sakura-chan will happen to you to if you don't get your head out of your ass and act like a real ninja instead of a lowly fan girl!"

Ino had nothing to say in response. It was installed into her head from day one, she would always be Sasuke's damsel in distress and always be there to pull her out of a tight spot. She also knew that Sakura had these same thoughts and that they were being crushed right in front of her very eyes. Her eyes started to water and for the first time since her match with Shikamaru was announced, she felt very scared. One thing caught Lucien's ears though. He noticed that Naruto added a chan suffix to the girls name. It was something that he only gave to the closest of his female friends: Hinata, Tayuya when nobody else was around, and Tenten. It must have meant that he truly accepted her as a friend.

Tayuya had enough playing around of Sakura and went in for the finishing strike. Sakura was battered, bruised, and nearly cut open, but she still wanted to fight. However, right as Sakura was about to slip into the realm of unconsciousness, something inside her snapped. Almost like a foreign entity took out her current state, shoved it aside, and took over control of Sakura's body. Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide oped and changed. Her pupil was taken over by her natural green and that green became much more dull. Also, the word inner appeared on her forehead.

Tayuya noticed the change, but still proceeded with her punch. Just as she was about to connect, Sakura caught the punch and began to push the other girl back. Tayuya brought her other hand up to fight as well, and both girls were engaged in a shoving match with Sakura starting to gain the clear edge. Tayuya tried to tip the balance back in her favor, so she kicked off Sakura and increased her distance. Bringing out her flute, she started to play her tune, but Sakura was much faster.

She attacked Tayuya with a roundhouse kick that sent Tayuya careening across the battlefield. Just as quickly, Sakura ran over and tried to kick Tayuya into the ground, but Tayuya regained her center and kneed Sakura in the chest before skidding away on the ground. It was as if the girl was fighting against a completely different person.

_What the fuck is this? The bitch is beaten into a bloody carcass with little force and now she's the one kicking my ass. How the Hell is this even happening._

"So now you see why I put this girl on my son's team." Fugaku explained. "I realized that this girl had the power in her and that made her worthy of being on the same team as Sasuke. Now she'll rip your worthless child to shreds and you have to watch Kushina."

"You're such an idiot Fugaku. You don't seem to understand anything. Yes, this girl is really good, but my daughter is capable of winning this fight. Not only that, but my son will crush your sorry excuse of a shinobi in the finals. That is, if Sasuke can actually do things on his own unlike any other Uchiha out there."

Naruto was puzzled by the new twist thrown into the mix of the battle. His sister, who had dominated Sakura right from the start and beaten her into a near unconsciousness, was now fighting hard just to stay around in the fight.

"What is this?" Lucien wondered. "Not only has her fighting technique, strength, speed, and condition dramatically improved, but also her eyes have changed. Also, does anyone else notice the word inner written on her forehead?"

"Yes. Still though Lucien, what does this mean? What happened to Sakura?"

"No idea. Hey you, with the dog on your head?" Lucien called out. "Do you know anything about this change that this girl is doing? Has she done anything like this before?"

"No not once. Sakura's always had problems with her anger and usually takes it out on me, but that was all in a 'hit you once and it's out of my system' kind of way. Now, she seems like it's a 'I'm seriously going to kill this girl kind of thing and to be honest, it scares me."

"I see thank you so much for your help." After hearing those words, the two gennin from Tanebi were hit with worry over their teammate for the first time in their lives.

Tayuya was breathing hard and trying desperately to avoid the rabid attacks of the pink haired girl. She knew that something had to give. For starters, she was noticing that the other girl was slowing down at a rapid pace. Another thing was that she could feel that all the attacks were losing their power. She assumed that the transformation into this new type of 'beast Sakura' combined with all the injuries that Sakura previously got in the fight, made this new upgrade only a temporary thing. If that was the case, all Tayuya needed to do was hold out and win the fight.

Inner Sakura could also feel herself slowing down. When this surge hit her, she knew that she had little time to work with and that time was quickly ticking down. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that this match was going to end fast.

Realizing the urgency, Inner Sakura renewed her attacks on the Tanebi kunoichi. She knew that she only had one chance left to end this match and she was going to take it. Even if it meant releasing all the chakra that Inner Sakura had held out her hand and a pink mass began to take shape, but Tayuya had no idea what this was.

Tayuya was at a crossroads. She knew that what she needed to do was buy for time and pressing an attack when in that scenario was not a good idea. However, if she were to allow the attack to finish and attack her, the results could be much worse then simply losing the match. Tayuya concluded that this attack was Sakura's trump card and needed to avoid it after she launched it. It was then that she prepared her own trump card. A trump card that she didn't want to have to use.

Inner Sakura concentrated a pink ball into her hands. When it finished, she released it in frond of her and the ball shattered into little pink fragments that looked like Sakura petals that formed a protective shield in front of the girl. "Ninja art, Sakura fragmentation jutsu."

Inner Sakura launched all the petals at once at Tayuya. The second that the first petal hit the Tanebi kunoichi, it exploded. That in turn sent every other petal to explode at the same time and a white smog covered the entire battlefield.

As long as the smoke covered the field, nobody had any idea what was going on. All of the Tanebi shinobi were incredibly worried for their comrade. None however were as worried as Kushina. Fugaku merely laughed at the whole thing.

"Yes, this is marvelous. Such a brilliant victory for my shinobi and a perfect showing for the greatest nation in the world. Kushina, really, your daughter did the best she could. Which, judging by you and your previous performances in life, was simply second best."

"You bastard. You think this is all just some game? Real lives could be in the balance along with the life of your own shinobi. Yet all you are doing is laughing and calling it a glorious victory for your country. Are you concerned at all for the sake of the girl?"

"Not at all. It's the job of shinobi to represent their country well and take out any force that seems dangerous. Sakura has done both right now. Should she die in the wreckage, it would be a death that any shinobi would be proud of."

"So you have no respect at all for your gennin?"

"No. If we cherished every individual gennin, then it would be unbearable to send them into any combat situation whatsoever. We need to treat them strictly as soldiers and it matters not whether they live or die so long as they do it for the nation." For once, Kushina had no answer to the Uchiha patriarch.

The smoke on the battlefield was coming to a close, but details were tough to come by. A tuft of pink hair sprawled out on the ground was the first thing that everybody saw. It wasn't moving, and it was clearly down for the count. After a few more minutes, another figure was seen. Unlike the last one, this one was still on her feet. Her red hair was now crossed in front of her face, and a crimson mask was across her face. She was breathing heavily, but she was clearly the victor.

_Damn that was a close one. I might not even be here now if I hadn't have summoned the golems to take the brunt of the damage from that attack. More importantly what was that burst of power that girl got, and that jutsu? So many questions to ask, but at least for now I won. However, I can feel it in my body, this is my last match._

Kushina was relieved to see that her daughter was still alright. She was injured and cut open, but still, she was alive and she had won the match. Fugaku was angry. He was sure that the power that Sakura had hidden away would be enough to cut down this foe. He was well aware of how talented this kunoichi was, but he was still disappointed that Sakura failed to take her down._ Perhaps I need to make some ... adjustments with Saskue's team. Despite unleashing her power, she still wasn't strong enough to take down the girl._

.................................................

Not as much to deal with the present in this chapter. In all honesty, this chapter will come to effect several things later in the story.

Sorry I was so late in getting this out. I had planned to put it out earlier, but things happen.

We get to see a little more about why Tanebi would want to take Sakura. However, just what Sakura did in this chapter is a bit vague.

So, I'll try my best to update every other Sunday. I'll try hard though to try and get back on schedule. Though with winter break coming soon, I think my updates will get much faster.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Aftermath

Please review.


	10. Disqualified

Tanebi

Chapter 10: Disqualified

Great turnout for the last chapter. Well, let's get right to the reviews.

Wind797: I need some kind of hook for the next chapter right? Glad you liked it.

MiseryluvsDeath: I'm so glad that you like the story.

Harry Foureyes: I'll cover where the power came from and what it actually is in the next chapter. Glad that you liked the Sakura bomb. The reason Konoha was heavily outnumbered, surrounded, and distracted so it's natural that they would get outclassed. Never thought about Kyu/IS, I may just do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Catsi563: I have a good idea as to how they will end up being together. I think that you're right that I could use a little bit more fluff. As far as Tsunade, I have no idea where she will fit into the equation, but I do know that Sakura will get strong in this story. I think that getting away from Sasuke always helps her. I don't think that Ino will defect, however that doesn't mean she'll end up totally evil or brainless. Thanks for the compliments. Also, I'll start looking at them and if you want me to BETA them, I'll do that too.

Kaiser Spartan: So glad that you liked the fight. Hope you continue to enjoy.

Ponchopanda: Awesome. I'm glad that you like the story that much.

Luxor: I'm not going to have an invasion during the exams. There will be some tension that will start the eventual war and that will take the story over. I'll explain the war starting in a few chapters.

Narutojazz19: I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Expect an update every other Sunday, but with Winter Break coming up the updates may get faster or slower. Don't worry about the other chapters. I hope that I continue to please the public.

All right, let's get on with the show.

.....................................

Sakura groaned as she rolled over into the new bed that she was laying on. She had no idea how she got there though. She thought back and the last thing that she remembered was passing out when Tayuya went in for the kill against her. She assumed that she passed out and was taken to the medical ward of the chunin exam arena.

"Well, you're finally starting to stir. It's about time. The first round is going to end with the next match. More importantly, do you remember anything about the fight with the Tanebi girl?"

Sakura looked to the side and spotted Kurenai. She looked worried, but revealed at the same time.

"Uh I remember getting my ass kicked around the arena. Why?"

_I see. She remembers nothing about her little transformation. Not really surprising though considering __everything that she went through. The question remains, what exactly happened? It looked kind of like ... no that's impossible. That boy was the only one of his kind ever in Konoha. There's no way that she could be one to could she?  
_

"Sensei, what's happened in the exams so far? Who's advanced?"

"Well, that boy Naruto struggled greatly in his match with that girl Temari, but he eventually won out. It seemed that he was distracted. Most likely due to his sister's condition."

"Sister's condition? What happened to her?"

"You honestly don't remember what happened do you?"

"What happened?"

"You snapped." Sakura heard Tayuya say. She looked over and saw Naruto standing next to his sister's bedside. She also got a look at Tayuya and what she saw shocked her. Tayuya's left side of her face was bandaged up.

"I what? What did I do?"

"I said you fucking snapped."

"Easy Tayuya." Naruto urged. "Sakura, when Tayuya went in for the finishing strike to take you down, it's like a whole new persona took over. She was a lot more bloodthirsty and used a jutsu that did this to Tayuya."

"But that's impossible." Sakura said as she pulled the blankets up to her neck. "That exact moment was when I passed out. What am I?" Sakura started to cry.

"You're a kunoichi." Naruto answered. "I don't know what the Hell happened to you or what came over you, but I do know that you're a kunoichi and a strong girl. For me, that's all that really matters." Naruto spoke the last words at Sakura's bedside and right in her face. he started over to her shoulder and rubbed it kindly and gently in a soothing motion. It made Sakura feel a lot better.

Sakura had never heard anything like that in her life. As a result of what Naruto said to her, Sakrua's face turned about as pink as her hair. Not even Sasuke could get that kind of reaction out of Sakura.

Tayuya was also shocked. She knew that her brother was a charmer. Clueless, easily but still quite the charmer for the girls. It shouldn't have come as a shock to her that her brother would unwittingly flirt, but this time it was with a nation was openly hostile with Tanebi.

Kurenai didn't know what to make of this. She knew that it would be a good thing for Sakura to start to pay attention to boys other then Sasuke. However, her falling for a shinobi of a nation that was already bordering on the brink of hostility could prove to be, for lack of a better word, troublesome on the road ahead. She knew that she had to change the subject fast or things could get nasty.

"Ino lost her match as well."

"What? Pig lost? But her parents knew everything about the Nara. How is it possible that she could lose under those conditions?"

"She was not prepared at all." Naruto answered. "Her conditioning was very poor and as a result she fell victim to Shikamaru's attacks pretty quickly. It's not looking good for him now though. It's really only a matter of time before Lucien finishes Shikamaru off."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "I would have thought that she would have done much better. I mean, she was number two for kunoichi in the graduating class and all."

"Pht. As is that bimbo could even come close to the top in Tanebi. I bet she wouldn't even have made gennin." Tayuya responded.

"Do you want to start something?" Ino yelled. Sakura was surprised because she really hadn't noticed her the whole time. "Besides, forehead over there sure did a number on you and I was better then her. I think I could whip your red headed ass."

Tayuya just laughed at the insult. "Please bimbo. I doubt that you could take Sakura over there either when she decides to go all mental psycho shit on you. Fact is, you wouldn't even last a minute against me. Hell, you didn't even last a minute against Shikamaru."

Tayuya didn't see it because she was getting into it with Ino, but Sakura's face fell after the psycho comment. Naruto however did see it and went back over to Sakura's side to try and help comfort her again, but instead of rubbing her shoulder, her went up and down the length of her arm.

"You know, I think that you did the impossible Sakura. Tayuya actually referred to you by name."

"So, what does that mean?" Sakura sniffled.

"It means that sometime during your fight with her, you gained her respect. You're one of the ten people in the world who actually have earned her respect. Maybe if things work out you could be friends. But, then again, I think the two of you would make any person tremble for mercy so maybe it's best if you two never get that close." Sakura laughed a bit at the rediculous notion that her and Tayuya would be that close, but still she could picute in her mind the two girls terrorrizing everyone in the town.

Conversation between Naruto and Sakura progressed and the two talked as if they had been friends for ages. For Sakura, it was the only talk she'd had since before Sasuke had gotten between her and Ino. Somehow though, this talk felt a lot more right and rewarding. Sakura didn't know quite what to make of this though.

On the other side of the room, Ino and Tayuya continued to hurl insult after insult to the other girl. It got to the point to where Ino actually walked over to Tayuya and demanded a fight right there in the clinic. It took a chunin to restrain Ino, while Kurenai, three medics, and another chunin tried to restrain the Tanebi girl. Somehow though, Naruto and Sakura didn't seem to notice.

Things continued like that until Lucien walked into the clinic from his match. He put his arms around Tayuya's shoulders and the girl instantly calmed down.

"Naruto, as much as things seem to be lively here, you need to scout out the next match. I'll stay here and try to keep the peace."

"I see. It's time for the Uchiha's match? Very well. Tayuya still isn't cleared to compete in the next round so I should have a free pass into the next round. Which is good because I don't want to mess with Tayuya when she's angry." Naruto laughed, while trying to avoid the heated glare by his sister.

"Hey Naruto, could you do me a favor?" Sakura asked.

"Sure what's up?"

"It's just ... Sasuke-kun and Kiba they well hate each other. You see, ever since the academy those two have wanted a piece of each other. And now with everything involving Kiba's sister I'm just afraid that ..." Sakura started.

"I see. You're asking me to step into the fight if things continue to grow and one of the two is in a position where they'll die?" Naruto asked while Sakura nodded. "Don't worry about it. If things start to get out of hand, I'll step in myself so don't worry about it. Okay Sakura?" Naruto added with a smile and Sakura responded by hugging him. The hug caught him by surprise, but after a brief pause, he hugged her back.

It felt odd for Sakura to be in this position. In his arms, Sakura felt instantly comfortable. it felt almost as if his body was shaped for the sole purpose of fitting her frame. In this moment of closness and comfort, Sakura knew that Naruto was a very special special person.

They stayed in that position before Naruto broke and headed out to the arena. It was after they broke that Sakura noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her. Sakura was now very embarrassed.

Tayuya just had her mouth hanging wide open in utter shock. She knew that her brother was an unconscious flirt, but never, even in Tanebi did something like this happen. She knew that her brother never had real feelings for any other girl. However, it was really starting to look like something was starting to brew with her brother and the rosette.

Kurenai was in a similar state that Tayuya was in. She knew that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were as strong as ever. Even though that fact still hadn't changed and that Sakura had no chance of falling for this new boy, something in the back of her mind said that these new developments would spell out trouble in the future.

"What the hell forehead? You do know that he's like the enemy right? I mean falling for the enemy, the son of the biggest traitor in Konoha history, and a jinchuriki? What's wrong with Sasuke-kun that would force you to run and join his kind?"

"I'm not falling in love with Naruto piggy. I was simply grateful that someone will stop Sasuke-kun and Kiba from killing each other. It's called being nice and being a friend. That's all."

"So you say Sakura but I really wonder if that's the whole story. I mean, your face is really red and everything. Maybe there's something more going on then meets the eye sister." Tayuya jeered. "And you slut, don't you ever talk about my brother like that. That is, if you have an addiction to breathing through something other then a tube."

_I have a sinking feeling that I got the harder task by trying to keep these three from fighting each other then Naruto did at keeping the Uchiha and the other guy from trying to kill each other._

Kiba walked down to the arena with a look of malice and determination. For him, this was the shot that he had been waiting for his entire life and now it was happening. Now was his chance to take out the mighty Uchiha prodigy who made his life a living Hell.

Sasuke meanwhile grinned. For him this was the chance to finally show that no good mutt just where he belongs in the world of the elite. He kept his stern and superior gaze on Kiba as he himself took center stage in the arena.

"You bastard. Because of you, Hana's dead. I swear to Kami that I'm gonna take you out right here and right now."

"Your sister died because she couldn't face her destiny. You are a member of the Inuzuka and I am an Uchiha. We are superior to you mongrels in every way imaginable. Your sister's failure to understand that is the reason why she's dead. If you can't seem to understand that fact, then you are also better off dead."

_I see. I saw it before in the break between exams 1 and 2, but even then it didn't look this serious. I really may have to intervene so that these two don't end up killing each other._

The proctor started the match and Kiba flew right out of the gate at Sasuke with a punch aimed right for the face. Sasuke was at first taken a bit back in shock because Kiba was much faster now then he had ever been. Narrowly, he avoided the punch, but Kiba was not done. Kiba then attacked Sasuke using a sweep and again Sasuke avoided it. Kiba remained on the offensive for about a minute, and though he landed several hits, none of them were even close to taking Sasuke out.

Sasuke started to get a bit frustrated. He knew in his mind that he was far superior to this mutt. He turned his Sharingan on and began to fight back against the Inuzuka boy. The result was instant as now Kiba was on the defensive.

_Hmm, so that boy Kiba is the faster one and probably better in raw strength as well, but his form is a lot more sloppy and unpolished. He seems to be fighting right now with nothing more then anger. At the same time, the Uchiha is good. According to what Itachi said, Sasuke uses his Sharingan to accurately predict what the opponent will do. It's unknown though just how good he is with those eyes._

The attacks continued from Sasuke and Kiba was knocked back against the wall and the crowd loved it. They loved seeing the son of their fearless leader stand tall, even against a member of the Inuzuka clan.

"Give it up mutt. With my eyes, you have no shot of beating me."

Kiba groaned as he made his way back to his feet. "So arrogant. Kami I hate you so much Uchiha. If you think that this is over then you're way off."

Kiba reached into his coat and pulled out a couple of small balls and threw them right at Sasuke. They exploded before they hit and caused a thick smoke to cover the area. Sasuke knew that Kiba liked to use smoke bombs because Kiba didn't need to see an opponent to attack them. They had gotten into several arguments because the smoke didn't allow Sasuke to use his full arsenal of jutsu.

Kiba continued the attack that he started. This time, in the smoke Sasuke was more less able to defend himself and had numerous punches landed on his face on body. Sasuke knew that in this environment, he was in a huge hole, so he leaped away from the other shinobi and executed several hand seals and shouted out the name of his ninjutsu. "Wind style, Great Breakthrough."

After he said that, a large ball of wind came out of his mouth and blew all the smoke from the bomb away, as well as forcing Kiba to crash into the wall. The crowd now got a good look at the shape of both participants and were shocked by what they saw. Sasuke had been cut open on his head. He was bleeding from both the forehead, and his mouth. Kiba was also in bad shape. The jutsu Sasuke just executed on the boy caused numerous scrapes and severely hurt his ribs.

"That's an Inuzuka correct? Man Fugaku, to have your son losing to a moderate like that must just kill your Uchiha pride doesn't it?" Kushina jeered.

"The moderate that ran the Inuzuka is now gone. They are now completely loyal to me and me alone. Not the ideals that the moderates once believed." Fugaku yelled. "They felt never bought into the truth about your husband. They were a disgrace and deserved what they got."

"I see. That's why you stuck the Inuzuka with your son. You wanted to show him and the Inuzuka how much better that you feel the Uchiha are."

"Exactly. Even though Tsume gets it, many members of that clan are still moderates, including that boy and his bitch of a sister. They need to understand their place and that people like them will not be tolerated in this village. You either side with us or you're a rebel and this village has no place for anyone who disagrees with that simple fact."

"So either agree with the leaders of the village or you're nothing but a plague? If so, then how do you justify everything that you did to my husband and every other previous person to hold the seat of Hokage?"

"The others were weak and allowed strife to enter into the village. Hokages 1 through 4 were weak and allowed the people to do whatever they wanted. Even though the village did grow, think of how much it would have grown if the leaders were actually strong enough to guide it into the right direction. Well, I won't allow factions like the moderates to exist anymore and that's why Sasuke has to show this mutt his place."

In the arena, both boys were breathing heavily. They were both worn out from the continuous fighting and injuries, but none of them were anywhere near finished with their battle.

Kiba then reached into his jacket and pulled out two soldier pills. He ate one and then gave the other one to Akamaru. Sasuke though had no idea what Kiba was doing. Sure he'd seen Kiba and Akamaru train together, but he'd never seen anything quite like this before. All of a sudden, Akamaru transformed into Kiba and Sasuke knew that this battle was about to turn around again.

Both Kiba and Akamaru now spun and they looked like a pair of miniature tornadoes. Sasuke recognized this as Kiba's Tsuuga attack, but now there were two people doing it. Both Kibas went right after the Uchiha in a frenzied rage. However, with Kiba's speed greatly reduced by the injuries to his chest and Sasuke still with a large amount of his reserves still remaining, he was able to avoid every pass that the Inuzuka boy made.

Kiba and Akamaru realized that this tactic wouldn't work, so they regrouped and threw another round of smoke bombs into the fray at Sasuke. Again, a cloud of smoke covered the field and it allowed Kiba to again attack Sasuke under the cover of smoke. Sasuke knew that he had to get out of the smoke and blow it away as he did the last time or else this fight would end with him on the end of the loser. All of a sudden, a thought occurred to himself reached into his belt and dropped a smoke bomb of his own causing a secondary smoke to envelop the area where Kiba was now and where Sasuke was. The smell from the smoke was so strong, that it stopped Kiba and Akamaru right in their tracks.

_What in the world is this? It kinda smells like methane gas but why would he drop it unless ... no! He wouldn't do that! Shit this is bad._ Kiba didn't have time to escape however as Sasuke leaped out of the smoke and used his signature fireball jutsu on the new smoke and caused it to blow up.

Every eye widened in the arena, but still everyone busted out in a round of applause. They were so ecstatic that Sasuke would use such a clever move, that they forget that it was one of their own that was caught in the blast.

When the smoke cleared, both Kiba and Akamaru were breathing, but on the ground. Akamaru had gotten thrown across the arena and had two legs clearly broken as well as having most of his fur burned off of him. Kiba was on the ground about ten feet from where the explosion took place. Like Akamaru, he also had burns covering his body, but at the same time he was struggling to get back to his feet.

_What! He's still alive! I see, if I want to get rid of this bitch, I need to ram my kunai through his heart myself!_

Sasuke then took out his kunai and ran right after Kiba in an attempt to finish him off once and for all. Every person in the arena was in awe of Sasuke and were almost cheering for Sasuke to finish Kiba off. Kuranai wanted to step in, but she knew of the repercussions of what may happen if she did, so instead she just averted her eyes, in tears for the inevitable.

Even in the medical ward of the arena, all the current patients could see what was going on and Sakura was in total shock. She knew how strong the rivalry was between the two and prayed that somehow, this would be stopped. Tayuya was not surprised in the least. She knew what the Uchiha was all about, but still felt bad that Sakura was going to see her teammate die. Just when it seemed like Sasuke would actually kill Kiba, the unthinkable happened.

Naruto rushed down to the arena and launched a side kick that hit the Uchiha boy right in the face and knocked him into the wall. The entire arena fell brutally silent. Sakura, who averted her eyes to the inevitable bloodshed peeked through, now saw that Naruto indeed kept his promise to her after all and stopped the match before either her true love or best friend were killed and that alone made her overjoyed.

Fugaku in the box was livid. This was his chance to show what was to happen to any who still held the ideals of the moderates close, and yet now the boy from Tanebi had to go and ruin it by interfering in the match. He cursed out loud and demanded that Naruto be disqualified for his intrusion.

"For once Fugaku, I agree. I have nothing wrong with him trying to stop a shinobi from being killed without reason, but at the same time, he did enter a match illegally and because of that he should get disqualified."

"So nice that you can put your bias aside just once Kushina. That boy of yours is too reckless and wild. For that he will not become a chunin on my orders. Do you understand me?"

"I understand, but you're way off. Being a chunin is about doing what is necessary for the success of the mission. In this case, the mission was him to fight well in the tournament and represent the ideals of our village which he has done exceptionally well. Furthermore, it is the decision of the leader of the village to decide just who becomes chunin and earns their rope belt."

"Uzumaki Naruto, for your interruption in the final match of the first round of the chunin exam finals, you are hereby disqualified from this tournament. Do you understand?" The proctor asked.

"Yes I do. I accept full responsibility for this." Naruto said as he walked off the arena. The crowd booed him furiously as he walked away, but still he knew that he did the right thing by stopping the attack.

"Very well, since Naruto Uzumaki is disqualified and Tayuya Uzumaki is not cleared to continue in the exams, then tomorrows match between Lucien and Sasuke Uchiha will be the final match in this year's chunin exams."

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Okay, so now it's Lucien against Sasuke in the finals. Now most of you can probably guess just why it is that Sasuke and Lucien have their little grudge.

I added a lot of Naru/saku fluff, but at the same time only one of them is starting to think romantically.

I think that should cover everything in this chapter.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next chapter: Finals

Please review.


	11. Finals

Tanebi

Chapter 11: Finals

Hey everyone and welcome to the newest installment of Tanebi. My computer has been down and I just got back from the greatest city in the world, Chicago. So, let's start with the reviews.

Miseryluvsdeath: Wow thanks. I'm not so sure about best or second best, I just try to create the best story that I can.

Wind797: Yeah it was kinda obvious, but at the same time, I liked it. Kuranai, along with everyone else is still very curious but she doesn't know why IS even exists. It would be weird, but can you imagine how scary Kyu/IS would be?

Catsi: I think our PM's pretty much answered everthing didn't they? Your suggestions were very good. Naruto simply got Temari via luck of the draw. No real story there and that is one reason why I skipped it.

Panchopanda: I'm glad you like it and I hope that you continue to like it.

Prague: I can understand the disappointment, but Ino and Shika wouldn't make a good match … now. Also, I'm not really good at doing Ino fights. Naruto and Temari really doesn't have much of a story. If you want though, I could add it in if (and it looks like I will) take Catsi's advice for a revision on the first ten chapters.

Dragonshaun: I guess that means you like him as a villain huh? Glad you like it.

Kaiser Spartan: That won't happen actually for a while.

Harry Foureyes: It did and I thought that I answered it, but I guess I didn't. Sorry. I don't think she will go into denial and it more like, as Catsi would say, give her a sense if security around Naruto and will help make her defection easier. Yeah, Tayuya and Ino I doubt would ever be friends. I think you'll be happy with what I do with the fight.

Inarealpickle: Yeah it was. They just don't realize it yet.

Zero Sakura Cross: No offense taken. Actually, I don't mind people getting critical because it helps me out. I think that rushed look is because I REALLY want to get back to the main story. I will take a bit extra time to try and polish it though.

Lexor: I need them alive unfortunately. Oh well, he can do something else.

Guyver Unit 1: Actually, I am planning a rewrite of chapters 1-9. Same story, but it will be a bit more polished and have a few "extras" as well as taking out the inconsistencies that I have been informed of.

Whew. Lot of reviews.

One final note before starting. If you don't read the reviews, with advice taken from Catsi, I am planning a rewrite of chapters 1-10. Same story, concept, everything, but will be a bit more polished and have a little bit extra added to it. Now that is all settled, let's get started on the final match of the chunin exam finals.

Also, special thanks to Catsi for some help on some extra stuff on the first part of the chapter.

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Sakura was confused. Once again, Sasuke had decided that her life was not important to him. Both times were not justifiable, even for her. After all, the first encounter was with Hinata, and that could be stated as trying to take down a deadly clan for her was. However, this time was different. This time he wanted to get Lucien for the simple reason of revenge. She recalled the look in Sasuke's eyes when he charged at Lucien moments ago. His eyes were blazing and full of hatred. It was as if he wanted to kill Lucien for the incident that happened in the exams all those years ago. But what concerned her more was the fact that it didn't even seem like he cared about what happened to her. She recalled that every single time he looked at her, his eyes shone with excitement and happiness. However, now looking back on it, she saw that Sasuke never once looked at her the same way that Naruto ever did.

Now, she had switched back to Hana. She was still completely shocked as to how Hana could be alive. It had not even sunk in yet that not only was Hana alive, but she was actually an enemy to Konoha. When they were younger, Sakura always saw Hana as the older sister that she never had. She would always come to her for advice on things like, how to grab a boy, what to do when the boy is grabbed, and why the boys in their lives were special. Actually, in Hana's case, she had too many boyfriends to count.

Of course, she could have gone to Ino about how to go about this, but that was never really appetizing. Even though she and Ino were still somewhat friends beyond the insults and rivalries, she still didn't want to go to her for stuff like that because they were after the same thing and she couldn't quite trust her trust Ino to give her sound advice. She knew she couldn't go to Kuranai about the topic because she wouldn't help her. Kuranai was always so serious that Sakura honestly thought that she never had a date in her life. She didn't want to go to her mom about it, because, for an unknown reason, she absolutely hated the entire Uchiha clan and she loved Sasuke. That only left Hana. Even though she didn't like Sasuke at all, she knew that Hana would at least attempt to put her bias aside and try and help the young girl.

It was under her suggestion that Sakura train a bit more. She told the girl that Sasuke would only like stronger girls and training would help the rosette to grab the attention of the young boy. Sakura usually now tried to avoid those talks because Hana would then put her through a hellish training where she would get chased by all three of her hounds, attacked by the chunin, and worked all hours of the day and night. It was much tougher then any other training she'd ever endured.

It astounded her as to why Hana would betray Konoha. Hana was such a level headed and intelligent girl that this betrayal shocked her completely.

Hinata was now traveling to the side of the two and the formation had changed. Lucien was still leading the way as the leader of the operation. The strange girl from Kumo beside him and it didn't look like they were entirely on the same page. Behind them, Hana carried Sakura protectively aside from Hana, and Neji watched the back for trailers alongside Tenten, who was covering up their tracks with suggestions from Hana.

Sakura highly doubted though that anyone from Konoha would come to her rescue. The party that was going to try and rescue her was now all but taken out, and she doubted that Sasuke even cared enough to try and get her back from these enemies.

It was actually the second time that she worried that nobody would come to her aid. However the first time, when she was captured by Lucien in the ambush, she somewhere in her heart truly felt that Naruto might come to her aid and stop her from being killed. It was the first time she thought about such ideas and did not once question what they were and where they were coming from.

_FLASHBACK_

Sakura had no idea what to think. Naruto had just gotten himself disqualified from the entire exams just to keep a promise to her. What really tuned her face the side of her hair though, was that Sasuke had never even come close to doing anything like that. Sure, he did help her out a lot when she was younger with all the bullies and stuff, but looking back, she was beginning to be unsure if he would risk his reputation just to do a favor for her.

Sasuke had yet to come into her room to check up on her, but she could see his face on the monitor in the hospital. He was livid. His eyes were flexed and his sharingan was spinning at full blaze at the sight of the Tanebi shinobi who was walking out of the arena.

"Hey, boy." Sasuke ordered while rubbing his jaw where Naruto had just kicked him. "It would be best for you to stay out of my business. You are an outsider to this village and unless you want me to do to you what I did to the mutt over there, or maybe what our village did to that Hyuuga girl, then it would be best to take my advice."

"It was a favor for a friend of mine and that has been done." Naruto responded while turning around to face the boy. "Now let me give you some advice, what your father did to Hinata was out of line and if you ever threaten her again ..." Naruto then disappeared and then reappeared at the back of the Uchiha prince startling him completely. He moved so fast, that even with his Sharingan active, he couldn't follow the move. "well, use your imagination." With that, he turned around and left the arena to the chorus of boos and threats.

Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled. She was really nervous about what would happen between Kiba and Sasuke, but for some reason she was even more anxious about what would happen in the between her new friend and Sasuke. She told herself that it was because Sasuke was in more danger at the time because of the recent fight with Kiba, but she wasn't sure at all if she truly believed it.

"Whew, your boy over there really dodged the big one there didn't she?" Tayuya said. "I mean taking on my brother in his condition is really just asking for him to be handled."

"Please. Even tired, Sasuke-kun could wipe any shinobi from Tanebi out of the water on their best day. Sasuke-kun is just that much better then anybody then your pathetic village has. All you are are a bunch of Konoha wash ups that decided to discover their own village. The real talent stayed here. Hell, you're royalty in that village and you nearly got taken out by forehead, a girl with no ninja pedigree at all." Ino said, trying to belittle the Princess from Tanebi.

"Well, we'll just see which village is better when Lucien-kun takes out that Uchiha boy tomorrow in the finals. Too bad it's going to take me about a week more to get medical clearance to train and fight or else I would do the deed myself."

"Please, you couldn't take forehead. Why on earth do you think that you can even come close to defeating the best gennin that Konoha has to offer?"

Sakura was starting to get fed up with the two kunoichi arguing. She was also starting to get a bit offended with the fact that Ino seemed to keep indirectly insulting her. By her side, she saw Lucien just pinch the bridge of his nose in what seemed to be fatigue.

"So, do you ever look over to that girl and think to yourself, 'why am I dating her again?'" Sakura asked.

Lucien chuckled a bit at the question. "I'd be lying if I never thought that. However, Tayuya has obvious faults, everybody does. But the thing is, whenever I start to get those thoughts I just think about all the good things that she does. That erases any doubts and I feel lucky to have her."

"What good qualities though? I mean, she's brash, curses all the time, and lacks any sense of tact. Not at all like Sasuke-kun."

"It's somewhat an act. She likes to be tough and she likes everyone to think that she's tough. Take my word for it, she can be very nice, caring, and gentle when she wants to be. Just don't tell her I said that or I'll be forced to deny it. Anything else on your mind?" Lucien asked with a knowing look in his eyes. It seemed as if he had been sensing what Tayuya had also been sensing between the two.

"Yeah. It's about … Naruto." Sakura hesitated. "Does he always go around making promises to strangers and actually keep them?" This question caused Lucien to laugh so hard, it interrupted Tayuya's and Ino's bickering, but it confused and angered Sakura deeply.

"And just what over there is so funny?" Ino asked.

"Oh nothing. Sakura just asked if your brother always makes promises to strangers." At that Tayuya also broke out laughing uncontrollably.

"Sister, you have no idea the half of it. Oh do you remember the time when he accidentally proposed to that priestess in Demon country and said that he'd let her bear his children?" Tayuya asked.

"Oh yeah. Kushina-sama man, I thought that Kushina-sama's head would explode after that."

"Trust me Lucien-kun, you have no idea how much paperwork she had to do to get Naruto out of that one. Even now, she's trying to find some type of loophole in the contract so that it can go through."

"Wait hold on a second." Sakura interrupted. "Tell us exactly what happened." She sounded deeply concerned and if one could sense it, they could also pick up a hint of sadness and disappointment.

Tayuya then proceeded to tell them about one of their first missions which was to Demon Country where they met the high priestess and her daughter. Like most girls who meet Naruto, fell in love and used very vague wording to get Naruto to try and marry her. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at a few of the parts, but at the same time, she felt a bit angry with the unknown girl.

"How about the time when he jumped off that bridge to try and save that family heirloom for that kid in Kumo, only to find out that it was nothing but some mass produced plate?" Lucien added.

"Or the time when he put his Rasengan through a tree to get that cat down in Kiri and the tree smashed through the guys house." Tayuya added.

"Remember the Fuma incident?" Lucien added.

"How could I forget? That was when he accidentally felt up that Fuma bimbo Sasame."

"For the last time Tayuya, I thought that was a guy and I didn't know that she would get so obsessive over me to move her entire clan to Tanebi." Naruto said as he appeared in the room. "More importantly, just what brought on this story?"

"Well, Sakura asked if you always make promises to people that you hardly know and … well … you can figure out the rest." Lucien said.

"I do not always make promises to people that I hardly know." Naruto defended.

"Need I remind you about the incident in Demon Country?" Lucien asked.

"For the last time, how was I supposed to know that help me continue the line of priestesses meant marry me?"

"Well, Lucien-kun and I figured it out right away, and I think that the pervert had his notebook out and began to jot down some notes for that perverted book that he writes." Tayuya said adding a sheepish grin while Lucien raised his eyes indicating that he was grinning and Naruto groaned. He really didn't want Sakura to find out about that. For some reason, he really didn't want Sakura to think that he was becoming a pervert. Sakura and Ino however were completely shocked and intrigued at the same time.

"Perverted book? What perverted book?" Sakura wondered.

"Have you ever heard of the series "Icha Icha?" Tayuya asked earning a nod from Ino and a groan from Sakura. "Well he writes that."

Sakura watched the jocularity between the group and wondered why she couldn't have been on a team like this. Even though they were fighting about some of the stupidest things, they truly looked as if they had each other's backs and cared about each other deeply. In her own team, Sasuke and Kiba would be about ready to kill each other about now.

During the stories though, Sakura kept comparing Sasuke and Naruto. Sure, Sasuke would have never done any of the stupid things that Naruto did, but at the same time all those tings that Naruto did were out of kindness and goodness. On missions, it sounded like Naruto tried on a deep level to connect with the client and out of the goodness of his heart do the right thing. Sasuke would usually complain about how the missions weren't worth his time and never even tried to get personal with the client. Even on the mission, Sasuke would only do the bare minimum and spend the rest of the time training with his trainer who would always accompany them at the request of the Hokage.

They kept arguing until a woman wit long red hair came into the room. Sakura could probably tell that this was the leader of Tanebi, because she clearly looked like an older Tayuya. The first thing she did was scan the room. She then walked over to where her daughter was and looked at her bed chart. After gazing upon it, walked over to where her daughter was and gave her a big hug which cause the other girl to squirm in ways Sakura had never imagined.

"I'm very proud of you Tayuya. You fought well and earned yourself a rope belt the minute we get back to Tanebi." Tayuya told her mom thanks and then Kushina walked over to where Sakura lay. She looked her up and down with a critical eye before speaking to her. "You know, you also fought one hell of a match. You did your village good out there. Keep up the good work."

Sakura was speechless. Even her own Hokage would rarely speak like that to his own shinobi in public and this woman spoke like that to a girl from a different village. It was nice and a very good compliment to get from such an accomplished kunoichi. To reaffirm that she gave Ino a slight gaze and just shook her head, before turning to Lucien.

"You have a big match tomorrow. Say your goodbyes here and get rested up. I'll visit you shortly to make sure that any soreness you have is gone. You need to be at your best." Lucien nodded and kissed Tayuya on the cheek before leaving the room. She then turned her attention to Naruto and her previous looks had been replaced with one mixed with confusion and rage.

"And as for you, why on earth would you go down there and interrupt that match? You had the easy road to the championship and you just blew it."

"I know you're mad Kaa-san, and I have no excuse or reason for why I would do something like that. I guess, I just didn't want to see that boy get killed by his own teammate."

Sakura was shocked. Naruto didn't tell his mother about the promise that she made him give her. He was going to take all the punishment from a very intimidating woman just to cover her tail. She felt very glad that he would do that for her, but at the same time felt really sick. He kept her promise and was going to take her beating, but she wasn't going to allow that.

"Excuse me, Oyabun-sama?" Sakura spoke up lightly.

"Yes?" Kushina said impatiently as she turned her glare onto the now sweating bullets Sakura.

"I am the reason why Naruto got involved. You see, I'm the teammate of the two boys who were just fighting and I was really worried. You see, Sasuke-kun and Kiba never did get along well and I was afraid that one of them may end up dead. You see, over the course of this month, I got to know your son, and he seemed to be very nice and I thought that maybe he could stop the fight if it got out of hand. So, I ..."

"Got him to promise you to stop the fight if anything got too extreme?" Kushina finished while Sakura nodded. Kushina just slapped her hand on her forehead. "Oh well, you've certainly made worse promises in your life son. Unless that is you accidentally got yourself engaged again?" Naruto smacked his forehead while Sakura turned beet red. "Did you accidentally get yourself engaged again?"

Sakura turned even more red while Naruto added a groan to the slap. She briefly thought about being engaged to Naruto but quickly shook it off. _It's not as if it's a bad thing being engaged to him. Actually, it wouldn't even seem too … wait, what am I thinking? Why am I thinking like this about Naruto? I love Sasuke. Sasuke. _Even though Sakura tried to fight these strange new thoughts, she couldn't but semi visualize a wedding of her dreams, except this time, she stood at Naruto's side and not Sasuke's.

"It was brave of you to speak up like that. By the way, try calling me Kushina-sama from now on please. Oyabun makes me sound old."

"But you are old you old bat." Tayuya said.

"You know, you remind me a lot of myself at that age, and trust me, that's not a good thing." Tayuya wanted to answer with another comeback, but she never could beat her mother in a war of insults. "Well, we're going to let you get some rest Tayuya. Me and your brother are going to get ready for tomorrow's finals. After that, Kushina left and took Naruto with her.

As they were leaving, Naruto took a look and his eyes met Sakura's. It's been said, that two people who care so much about each other can tell a story with no words, but instead with nothing more then a mere glance into the soul with the eyes. Naruto saw Sakura's eyes, telling him how grateful she was that he was able to stop the fight between Kiba and Sasuke in time, while Naruto's were telling her that it was no big deal and that she was such a great person for being concerned with the welfare of her teammates.

Shared in the gaze was more raw emotion and passion then she had ever shared with another person in her life. Tayuya and Kushina both noticed the gaze and were happy for the boy. They saw something in that gaze that he never gave to Shion, Sasame, or any other fan girl that tried to approach him.

The next day had arrived and the entire arena was buzzing with excitement. The whole arena minus a few people were cheering and waiting for the new champion of the chunin exam crowd to come back to Konoha. Only a few select people actually were cheering for the masked boy from Tanebi to win the title.

Naruto was watching the match with Sakura and his sister along with Ino in the medical ward. The previous night, Sakura had asked for her bed to be moved as close to the opposite wall as possible. She really didn't feel like hearing the two loudmouths that she shared a room with live and in stereo. Naruto decided to follow the same strategy. Of course that's what he planned on telling his sister, but the reason that he chose to be near her was because she had a calming and tranquil effect on him. Sakura was glad as well because she secretly felt the same way about him.

The crowd roared again as the two contestants came to the center of the arena. Well, they roared for Sasuke, but they jeered the representitive from Tanebi. The proctor raised both of his hands and got ready to begin the fight as the two boys engaged in a good old fashioned stare down.

"Just to let you know, I am an Uchiha. Uchiha's always win." Sasuke said.

"If that's the case, then prepare to be the disgrace of the Uchiha clan for losing to one of the scraps from Konoha." Lucien retorted.

The crowd had stopped cheering and was now completely silent as they waited for the two gennin to begin their face off of destiny. The proctor started the match and both boys were off.

Sasuke wasted no time and activated his Sharingan. He figured that maybe with it fully active, he could tell the exact moment when the other boy would begin to go intangible. He knew that the fight would be rough if he could not tell just what the other boy was doing.

The two boys headed right for each other and cocked their fists to try and get the first strike on the other shinobi. Lucien, being the slightly faster shinobi made first contact. He hit Sasuke square in the chest, and right before Sasuke's punch could hit, Lucien went intangible and Sasuke's fist went right through the other boy.

Both boys then came to a complete halt and turned around to face each other again. Sasuke reached down and grabbed his left rib. Lucien hit Sasuke right where he got operated on before the exams even started. The boys once again ran at each other, but this time they were coming at each other with roundhouse kicks. Once again, Lucien, being the faster shinobi hit moments before Sasuke did and was able to completely miss Sasuke's attack. Sasuke was knocked off balance and nearly fell to the ground, while Lucien skidded to a perfect stop.

Sasuke was starting to get very frustrated with this exchange. He was the fastest of all the gennin in Konoha and also had the Sharingan which made all other opponents seem slower. The fact that Lucien was this much faster then him was not part of the plan. He would need a much different strategy if he would hope to beat the other gennin.

Lucien was not doing as well as he had thought either. The contact that he made on Sasuke with his first couple of blows was not as much as he had wanted. The only shot that looks like it did even a tiny bit of damage was when he attacked that left rib. He also knew though, that Sasuke would be on guard for that rib.He figured that the best ticket for him to be successful was for him to just hit one big attack on that rib.

Sasuke broke out of his stance and executed his set of hand seals at a rapid rate and blew his fireball at the masked ninja from Tanebi. The attack took the boy slightly by surprise and he was able to get away. Sasuke again fired a fireball and the Tanebi shinobi was again easily able to get away from the blast. Sasuke now figured out that Lucien could not go intangible through ninjutsu and that gave Sasuke an opening to attack.

_So, using ninjutsu is going to be my ticket for success. The question is how I can attack him. He's much to fast for my fireballs to hit him, so that is out of the picture. I could use a lightning style that Ebisu taught me, but those seem to have the same problem. That only leaves the Phoenix Flower. I doubt that he will expect it so that should be the ticket._

_I see, Sasuke knows my weakness. The good thing is that I still have the obvious speed advantage and the physiological advantage. I should be still then be able to complete my task._

Sasuke did a new sequence of hand signs that Lucien had never seen before and used his Phoenix Flower jutsu to blow several fireballs across the arena. Lucien was caught off guard and forced to hastily retreat to a safer location. When he hit the location, Sasuke got behind Lucien and used his fireball jutsu at point blank range to try and take the Tanebi shinobi out_._

The crowd roared as they saw the Tanebi shinobi engulfed in the flames of Sasuke's jutsu, while Ino roared in the hospital and Tayuya could feel her heart stop momentarily. Sakura looked over to Naruto and saw the blank and vacant look on his face and it killed her. She had never seen him have such an expression of pure hopelessness before in his life. She wanted to reach out and do something, anything to make that look on his face just go away, even for an instant.

Sasuke looked across the floor. He knew that his jutsu hit the boy, but at the same time, he knew that his enemy was still out there. All of a sudden, he heard the sound of sizzling on the ground which indicated a fear. He looked down and saw an exploding tag ready to explode. Desperately, Sasuke leaped away, but not in enough time to fully escape the blast. His right arm got burned in the explosion and Sasuke knew that he would be unable to use any more ninjutsu for the rest of the match. Another concern for him, was that he couldn't seem to find the mysterious boy from Tanebi as well.

He looked around for a long time before he saw a glimpse of Lucien's pant leg come out of the ground. It was a kick and it connected right in Sasuke's left rib cage where the operation had taken place just over a month ago. Sasuke flew back from the contact and could only watch as the opposition arose from underneath the ground.

Lucien's shirt had a huge hole on the left side and past the hole looked like one really large burn. Also, his left pant lag had been completely burned to shreds and his leg was covered in red and black skin. His mask also had a hole on the left side revealing another small burn on his face.

Sasuke was now on the ground and gasping very hard to try and get a breath. His entire side ached and it felt like Lucien had re broken Sasuke's ribs. Sasuke coughed and was alarmed to see a bit of blood mixed in with his cough. At a glance it was easy to see who got the best of the exchange, but internally, they both took a great deal of damage.

Tayuya let out a huge sigh of relief mixed in with a few tears of joy to see that her boyfriend had mead it out of the ordeal alright Sakura also noticed that Naruto was also very happy to see that his best friend had made it out just fine and Sakura was relieved to see that he was ok. In fact, she was so happy that Naruto was alright, that she didn't even notice the critical state that Sasuke was now in.

"So, I see you made it." Sasuke said. "I knew that didn't take you down, but tell me, just how did you manage to live through that attack?"

"Fair enough. I went to the ground the moment I saw your fireball and used it to give me cover. Not enough to keep my left side intact, but enough to save my life. Count your blessings, because at full strength that kick could have jarred your ribs into your lungs and re punctured them, and I doubt highly that you would have survived."

Sasuke knew that the other boy was right and that he had to be very careful from here on out. Had he have not moved at the last minute then this match would be easily over. He could already feel the sting from his broken ribs, but felt that the pain dealt to the other boy was far worse.

Sasuke and Lucien again charged at each other and this time, Sasuke was about to make initial contact, but Lucien went intangible and phased right through the Uchiha heir. Now it was clear that the speed advantage had now swung into Sasuke's favor even with the re broken ribs.

Sasuke rushed right back at Lucien with a renewed sense of charge and was prepared to launch the onslaught that would end the match. He used a wide range of kicks but Lucien either dodged completely or phased through every single one of them. He then tried to use his good arm to punch the boy, but Lucien took that opportunity to use his good leg to kick Sasuke's unprotected bad rib.

Sasuke, in a desperate attempt, blocked his bad ribs with his bad arm and the impact launched him pack against the wall in a state of pure pain and agony. Lucien then walked over and threw kunai to nail Sasuke against the wall by his clothing. He then slowly and methodically walked up and got close to the Uchiha heir and turned to face where the proctor stood.

"Proctor I forfeit this match." Lucien said stunning every single member of the audience.

"What? Why are you quitting huh? Tell me! WHY DO YOU QUIT!?" Sasuke roared.

"You said it yourself. You're an Uchiha and Uchiha never lose. Consider it a favor from me and the Village of Tanebi."

"A FAVOR?! A FAVOR?! UCHIHA DO NOT TAKE FAVORS FROM ANYONE?!"

"Oh what a pity. I mean here I am throwing the match so that you could win the tournament and this is the thanks that I get. Maybe I shouldn't have let you win then." Lucien said smirking. He then leaned down to Sasuke and whispered something in his ear that only he could hear. "Our mission in coming here was to humiliate this village and the Uchiha clan as much as we could. Just imagine the embarrassment and humiliation the Uchiha clan would get if it became public knowledge that the only way that they could win the chunin exam tournament was if it was handed to them like this."

"Oh and what makes you think that your village won't be seen as a bunch of disgraces and dogs for lying down to us?" Sasuke responded.

"You are the crown prince of the Uchiha while I really have no clan. I could just say that I got payed off or threatened by Konoha bigwigs to let you win. After all, you were supposed to dominate, and yet here you have to hire ninja to threaten the opposition into making them lay down for you. Imagine how that would look when making an alliance."

Lucien then turned and walked away as Sasuke was announced as the winner. "I hate you." Sasuke spat out. His broken ribs were starting to get very sore with the predicament he was in. "Next time I see you, I swear to Kami, I'll kill you. And from here on out, I will dedicate my entire life to killing you."

In the Hokage box, Fugaku was livid. He knew the reason why Lucien did what he did and he just wanted to do something, anything to even the score when a thought occurred to him. He instantly figured out a way that he could get revenge on the village for wronging them right here and now.

"Attention all!" Fugaku yelled as he stood up from it seat in the Hokage's box. "The finals are not over. I have just received notice from the hospital that Tayuya Uzumaki has been cleared to compete in the finals. In four hours, it will be Tayuya vs Sasuke in the true final match of this chunin exam final."

….................................................

Man, I really don't want to have a layoff like that again.

Not too much that I feel I need to clear up except that Tayuya really is not ready to compete.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Unjust Match

Please review


	12. Scramble

Tanebi

Chapter 12: Scramble

Hey everybody. Wow, hated my cliffy huh? Alright let's get started on the reviews.

Dshadodragon: Yeah it is messed up. Oh well, everything has a reason right?

Kaiserspartan: I think you'll like what the mad scientist has to offer.

Harry Foureyes: Fugaku's reasons for his actions and how he does them will be explained in the chapter.

Catsi: I wanted to make Sasuke strong. He will be a villain and a weak villain is no fun. Thanks for the compliment too.

Chm01: Thanks for the spelling correction. Actually, you'll sort of see how Sasuke gets ready to compete. I have no problem with Sasame. Actually if you read the revisions that I posted, you'll see that Sasame will actually have a role in this story. Tay just doesn't like her very much.

Wind797: I think you'll like what the mad-scientist has to offer.

Spider of the Leaf: Yeah they'll end pretty soon. Just a couple of more chapters. Anko I can see doing it. Kurenai, I keep flip-flopping on. She won't at the start that's for sure. I like to do a lot with rivalries and stuff and Kunenai would make an excellent rival for Sakura when she fully defects. Ibiki, see Anko. As far as Tsunade, Catsi and I have gone full circle and back again on this. I'm not sure what role she'll play, but she will appear and be on Tanebi's side, but I don't know to what extent.

Prague: That will happen sometime, but for right now, Sasuke's rival is Lucien.

Inarealpickle: Thanks. Always love the compliments.

Miseryluvsdeath: Congrats reviewer number 100!!!! Don't worry, I think that you'll like what I'm planning.

As I just said, this story has 100 reviews. Thanks to all of you who helped me reach this milestone.

IMPORTANT!!! I strongly urge that all of you who haven't yet read the revised chapters yet, read the revisions that I made on the first chapters. While the story stayed the same mainly, some new scenes were added that will help the story make a lot more sense.

Not much else, so let's get down to business.

…..............................................

Naruto was livid. He had just heard the announcement and they were enraged that Konoha could do that. Sakura had no idea what to think of it. She knew that the girl was legimitely hurt and forcing a girl in her condition to fight just wasn't fair. Ino on the other hand was loving this. She really didn't like the Tanebi kunoichi and for her this was sweet justice.

On the arena floor, Lucien's face was blank. He also had just heard the announcement and could not believe what had just transpired. Right now it was taking all his willpower to not turn back and seriously injure the Uchiha prince who was right now smirking and on the verge of insane laughter.

"Serves you right you know." Sasuke started. "You had to try and embarrass and humiliate me and the entire village. Well, I'll make you pay by gutting your little girlfriend while I make you watch. How do you like that?"

Sasuke got the reaction he wanted as Lucien shot off like a rocket with a kunai in hand, before Jiraiya came down to the arena and stopped him.

"Listen. I hate this as much as you do, but there's nothing that we can do. All that we can do is just sit back and think of a way out of this. Don't let him get to you." The pervert said. That did the trick somewhat as Lucien put away his kunai. But he still shot the nastiest glare he could manage as Sasuke. The two left the arena without another word.

Kushina was also mad, but she knew that she had to do something fast. Reasoning with the Uchiha wouldn't work, and besides that she wanted some answers of her own. The thing she wanted was proof from the medical ward that Tayuya wasn't ready so that she could present that as evidence to the Alliance about the chunin exams.

Very soon after the announcement about Tayuya was made, several guards came into the medical ward. They yelled that everyone in the ward not a patient would have to leave immidiately. Their reasoning was that they felt that someone may want to injure of the patient Tayuya. However, Naruto knew the truth. Konoha wanted no chance of either Tayuya getting heatlhy, or Tanebi finding something potentially damaging.

The scene that Kushina walked into when she reached the medical ward of the chunin exam arena was Naruto, Jiraiya, and Lucien all arguing with the guards and medics about Tayuya.

"How can you not trust me?" Naruto pleaded. "I'm her own damn brother for Kami's sake. Do you honestly think that I would do anything to try and hurt my own sister?"

"No." The ANBU replied. "However that being said, my orders were to escort everyone not a patient away from here. No entry allowed for anyone regardless of kin, status, or power. Nobody is allowed in without proper clearance period."

"Not even me?" Kushina said startling everybody. "As leader of Tanebi, I certainly should have the proper clearance to see my daughter and make certain that she is indeed ready to compete."

"I agree Tanebi-sama. You and you alone may visit with her." The ANBU said. "However, we are under orders from the medical staff here and the Alliance personel here to not allow the patient to leave. Also, even through her match is in four hours, we will have to seal off standard visiting hours in about a half hour as well because the other patients need their rest." Kushina started to again debate with the ANBU when someone else entered the discussion.

"Is there a problem?" A doctor asked as he entered the hallway to the medical facility. He looked to be very young for a doctor. In fact, he couldn't have been any older then Itachi. He had short silver hair and he wore on his head the insignia for the rock village. Another distinguishing feature was the glasses that he wore on his head. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I am the appointed head of the Chunin Exam Medical Staff for these exams. I must say that I was expecting your arrival Kushina-sama. Would you and your group here like to speak in private?"

"I would like to have my daughter returned to me if you don't mind Yakushi-san." Kushina demanded.

"I'm sorry but that is outside of my power. You see, I just say who is and who is not ready to compete. If you don't mind, I need to make this quick. You see, I also need to check on Sasuke's status for the match as well."

Kushina just groaned in frustration. She figured though that here in the middle of the hallway was not the best place to argue, so she and her group took Kabuto up on his offer and joined him in a vacant office. He motioned for them to sit down and they did just that. Kabuto then reached into the drawer of the desk in the room and pulled out a chart. More specifically, it was Tayuya's medical chart.

"You see, the damage received by Tayuya in the match with Sakura was dealt with mainly in surface wounds and a small case of chakra exhaustion. Now the small wounds were nothing to be concerned with as they healed very quickly. It was the exhaustion that we were concerned with mainly. However, her case of exhaustion was reletively minor and she already has about three-fourths of her chakra back. Not only that, but her psysical strength is also returning much more rapidly then previously expected. Under those circumstances I had no choice but to allow her to compete." Kabuto said as he pushed his glasses back up his face.

"Are you sure that's the right chart?" Kushina asked.

"It is. You see, I moniter all the patients myself and manage all the contestants. I understand that you are worried about your daughter, however if I decide that Sasuke is not ready to compete by match time then your daughter will win the tournament by default. Now, if you excuse me, I am a very busy man. Have a nice day." Kabuto said as he left the Tanebi shinobi still in the office. Long after he left, Kushina got her people together.

"Alright let's get this started. I know that chart is a fake. I know because I saw Tayuya's chart myself. In reality, her chakra exhaustion is far worse then Kabuto made it seem to be. Plus, while her injuries were mostly external, she had a few internal injuries that can't be healed overnight. Regardless, I think I have an idea." Kushina started. Every shinobi in the room had her immidiate attention. Afterall, she was Tanebi's leader for something.

"First, Jiraiya I want you to find Shizune and Itachi. They should both be around here somewhere. Bring Shizune back to our hotel and have Itachi find all of his students and have them all put on standby. After both of these are done, have everyone consult a different section of the complete chunin exam guidelines. I have a copy prepared at the hotel. See if you can find any loophole at all."

"Hai Kushina." Jiraiya said before he left the office.

"Next, us three are going to plan a jailbreak for Tayuya. Each one of us will have our own parts to play here. Lucien, do you know which room is directly above and below the medical ward of the chunin exam arena?" Kushina asked.

"No. The medical room is on the top floor but I have no idea where it would be in relation to the roof. I also have no idea what lies below it." Lucien answered.

"Damn. That's going to make things take longer. Alright, use your team code while walking around the roof. When you hear Tayuya's response, drop through the roof and pick her up. They shouldn't be expecting you to drop in like that so there shouldn't be any guards in the room. Get her to me and we'll get her out of the arena and back to our hotel. However, we'll need a distraction. Naruto-kun that's where you come in. As soon as Lucien signals you, I want you to use our bloodline to transform yourself into a doctor and make some noise. That will cover up the sounds that Lucien is making while trying to find Tayuya. As soon as you get the second signal get out of there and meet us in out room. We have less then four hours to get Tay in fighting shape. Everyone know their assignments?" Everyone in the room nodded their heads. "Good. This is an A-ranked mission. Let's move out."

Sakura was back in the medical ward and she felt really bad for the girl laying across the hall. Over the course of the exams, she started to feel a sense of friendship around the redhead. And now, for the first time in these exams, she looked frightened. She looked so scared about what may happen to her and Sakura had to do something, but she didn't know what. Ino, with her constant jeering didn't help things at all either.

Even though it hurt her psysically, Sakura was able to will herself over to near Tayuya's bed and lay down in the bed right next to hers. She figured that maybe someone friendly to talk to would help her calm down at least a little bit. After a few minutes of getting her thoughts together, Sakura finally began the discussion with the fiery redhead.

"Hey," Sakura started.

"What the fuck do you want shithead? Can't you see that I need to get ready for my match with your boyfriend Uchiha in a few hours? Well? If you got something to say then get your pink haired head out of your ass and just say it."

"No. I just was wondering if you wanted some help preparing for your match that's all." Sakura responded. She was shocked at how Tayuya was now speaking. She hadn't spoken like that since the first time they met.

"Patronizing me no shithead? Let's get one thing straight, I don't care what sort of shape I'm in alright. I'll still go fown to that arena and kick old duckass' ass all across that arena whether you like it or not." Tayuya yelled back.

"Hey, just what is your problem anyway?" Ino yelled back. "It's obvious that for some reason forehead here feels a need to be nice to you. So I think that you need to stop acting like a total bitch and apologize to Sakura."

"Why don't you back off bimbo. I don't need an anorexic slut like yourself to go and get involved with my shit alright. Now if you thought that what Shikamaru did to you was bad, then just say another word. Kami help me, because if you do, you'll be eating out of a tube for the rest of your damn life." Tayuya followed up with another glare. Even in Tayuya's weak physical state, she could still intimidate almost any other kunoichi in the world. It really showed Sakura how strong this girl was on both the inside and outside. "So pinky, you got something to say, or do you want to join the bimbo in silence. If so, I'm not afraid to finish our fight." At that comment something inside Sakura just snapped.

"You know what, you don't ever talk to Ino like that. As far as I go, I hurt myself to come over here just to try and help you out because you looked like a basket case. I don't care if you do want to finish our fight, in fact let's go right here and right now." Sakura yelled as she tried to make it back up to her feet.

Tayuya was surprised. She thought that nobody had the courage to stand up to her when she got really mad outside of her family and team. Yet, here this girl had challenged her to a fight even after Tayuya had put her in the hospital once. "Fine bitch. Bring it on. It will be a good warm up for the Uchiha." Tayuya also struggled to get up. After a few seconds of painful struggling, both Sakura and Tayuya were on their feet glaring at each other.

After a couple of seconds of fierce glaring, Sakura started everything up by slapping Tayuya across the face. Tayuya then lunged after Sakura, but Sakura was able to parry her and Tayuya was sent sprawling acorss the floor. Sakura was going to charge, when she saw Tayuya start coughing up blood. Sakura also saw Tayuya's wrappings around her body start to stain crimson red.

Sakura realized that the situation was now very serious. She yelled for a doctor to come into the room, but her pleas were not heard. She screamed again for someone, anyone to try and help the struggling Tanebi kunoichi, but again nobody came after her. Sakura knew that it was now up to her to try to get Tayuya back to health.

Quickly, she ran over to the groaning girl and tried to get her up, but she couldn't. She tried again, but she was still much too weak to do anything. She needed help if she wanted to get Tayuya back to her bed. "Ino, come on help me get her up." Ino did nothing. She was in a complete state of shock that the strong Tanebi girl could be dying in front of her eyes. "Ino. Help me now or else she may die. I know you don't like her but I need your help." Reluctantly Ino got up and moved her way over to Sakura. Ino was in much better shape then Sakura and easily in better shape then Tayuya.

Ino reached Sakura and put her hands around Tayuya's waist. Initially, she was surprised at how much muscle was there. When she touched her, Tayuya winced and Ino pulled her hand away. She could feel something odd on her hand, so she examined it. Ino was shocked to find out that she had blood all over her hand but she didn't want to think about it. Sakura started barking out commands, and after a while, both girls were able to get Tayuya back to her bed. After that, Sakura tried to use her limited knowledge of medicine to try and nurse the girl back from a critical state.

Sakura started by using a small chakra pulse over Tayuya's body. She was a bit surprised that her chakra was returning so quickly. When most ninja got chakra exhaustion, it took about a week, but for Sakura it was taking about a day. After pulsing for a few minutes, she noticed that one of the internal injuries had reopened. More specifically, it was in her left ribcage. Also, in that same area, one of her deep cuts had opened up.

"Damn. Ino, can you look around here for some fresh bandages, some water, and a cloth?" Ino nodded and Sakura went to work. She put her hands over Tayuya's ribs and went right to work. She'd never learned officially from a trained instructor how to deal with internal bleeding, but she had read a couple of things about it. Very carefully, Sakura balanced and controlled her chakra. After a few minutes, of careful work, Sakura concluded that the internal wound had closed enough so that she would survive.

"Whew. I think she'll make it. Ino, can you bring the bandages, cloth, and water over here?" Ino complied and gave the materials over to Sakura. Sakura then reached Tayuya's shirt and pulled it just below her breasts, which was where the bandages ended. Sakura's next move was to pull out a kunai and carefully cut open the bandages and now Tayuya's stomach was exposed and Sakura and Ino were surprised at what they saw. They saw that the Tanebi kunoichi's stomach looked well toned, but very feminine at the same time. Ino and Sakura were expecting her stomach to be a lot larger and bulky. After the initial shock wore off, Sakura took the cloth and dipped in in the water, cleaned up Tayuya's open cut, and carefully rewrapped the bandages. Sakura wiped her forehead, as Tayuya's breathing went back to normal. She went back to her bed right next to Tayuya's and laid down exhausted. Ino also laid down and after a while felt the need to talk again to Sakura.

"Damn forehead. When did you learn how to do stuff like that? I mean we were never taught that in the academy. Did your sensei teach you how to do that?"

"No." Sakura admitted. "I read it in a scroll somewhere. Have you ever heard of Tsunade of the Sannin?" Ino nodded her head. "Well, she wrote it. Kurenai-sensei taught me basic medical care in case I ever needed to use it, but I just read up on the latest stuff recently. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that, the old Sakura would have frozen up you know? She would have panicked and just screamed hysterically. You however took charge and knew exactly what to do. Is it something that you picked up from Sasuke-kun?" Ino wondered.

"No. I think just this last month helped me and Na … it's not really important. Anyway, I don't know, I think that I'm finally starting to mature as a kunoichi. I think ironically that Tayuya over here has something to do with it."

"Tell me that you're kidding forehead." Ino protested. "I mean she's not really someone that you want to take as your ideal role model for kunoichi you know."

"And why not Ino? I mean for one look at her. I know for a fact that you would kill anyone to have a body like that. Not to mention, that we all know and have seen how powerful and effective she can be as a fighter. That and the things that she said really make a lot of sense when you think about it." Sakura told her.

"Well, I will say that she has a very good looking stomach. And she is skilled, smart, effective, but Sakura, she is the enemy and a compete bitch. I mean you sound as if she's your best friend or something." Ino said.

"I'm not saying that Ino, but all the negatives that you mentioned don't negate the fact that she's really good kunoichi. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to try and become that strong." Sakura argued.

"Do the two of you even realize that I'm here or what?" Tayuya said weakly from her bed. She tried to move herself to a sitting position and reached it after a little while. "That was some pretty good stuff pinky. Almost like baa-chan herself."

"Baa-chan?" Ino asked. "What is she some kind of medic or something?"

"Not anymore. But she used to be legendary. Now though she's legendary for a completely different and much more humiliating reason." Tayuya said earning a small, painful laugh from herself and a couple of confused looks from Sakura and Ino. "Hey blondie, I'm a bit thirsty. Could you go and get me some water or something." Ino protested, but after both of the other girls shot her a look, she eventually picked up the signal. And left the immidiate area to give the other girls some privacy. With Ino out of earshot, Tayuya picked the conversation back up.

"So, why'd you save me? I mean it would have been a lot easier for your precious Sasuke if I was out of the picture."

"I don't know. I guess ... maybe because I look up to you a bit. I mean I used to think that being a kunoichi was all about getting the boy and the praise at the end. But then I met you and saw what a kunoichi was really like. I heard about what being a kunoichi was like from my sensei, but then again I don't think she's ever had a date ever." Sakura said which got a small laugh from both girls. "I mean look at you. You have a killer body, a pronounced mean streak, a great boyfriend, everything."

"You forgot about my vocabulary." Tayuya mentioned which got another small laugh from both girls. "You know, maybe just maybe, you've earned my respect as well and trust me, I don't give that out to just anyone you know."

"I have?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. I mean, you actually met my glare in the prelims, you fought me tooth and nail in the last exam, and most importantly, you stood up to me. Think about it, we beat the holy hell out of each other. Not to many kunoichi out there would stand toe to toe with someone who just sent them to a hospital."

"Yeah well, sorry to say this, but you were being kind of a bitch." Sakura mentioned.

"Sorry about that. It's just … I'm scared and that turned into anger." Tayuya said.

"You're scared? Let me guess, about facing Sasuke-kun in the finals in your condition right?" Sakura had pretty much figured that out right away. Tayuya nodded.

"Yeah. I mean you saw it right? I just lunged out at you and fell over and my entire body went right to shit. If I were to fight like that Uchiha like this … well who knows what might happen, I mean I could get seriously hurt or worse."

"Why not quit then? I mean if you quit then you won't get hurt." Sakura suggested. "I don't think that a match is worth getting yourself killed."

"I realize that, but I can't. Look at my family. My father sacrificed his life to save this village, my mother overcame all odds to rescue me and Lucien-kun from a fate worse then death, my brother, well, I'm sure you know all about that one." Tayuya said as Sakura nodded her head with a smile on her face. "None of them gave up. How can I face them if I give up now?"

"Yeah but they'd rather see you quit then see you dead. Actually, I want to come back to something. What do you mean when you said your mother saved you and Lucien from a fate worse then death? I kinda want to hear about that." Sakura wondered.

"Well, alright but hold on a second." Tayuya said. "Hey blondy, I'm not thirsty anymore so get your anorexic ass back over here!" Ino grumbled about grumpy redheads and then eventually made her way back to her bed. After Ino and Sakura were sitting at attention Tayuya began her story.

"It all started when I was two." Tayuya began. "It happened right when my mother was about to give birth to my brother. I was kidnapped by a group of shinobi and sold to Orochimaru."

"Wait, Orochimaru?" Sakura asked and Tayuya nodded her head. "You mean one of the sannin?" Once again Tayuya nodded.

"Yes. Orochimaru collected lots of kids whether legally or not. You see, I was kidnapped by the Uchiha clan at age two and sold soon after." Ino and Sakura right away questioned why Konoha would deal with the likes of him. "Konoha was in a lot of debt after the Kyuubi attack and Orochimaru offered the hokage such a high price for me that he had to whether he liked it or not." Tayuya explained.

"But why would he pay so much for you? Did he think that you were that valuable as a bargaining chip?" Ino asked. Tayuya just shook her head.

"Maybe you don't know this, but my mother's bloodline allows us to perfectly copy any person just by looking at them once. Imagine what Orochimaru could do with that ability under his control." Tayuya planted the thought in the girls' minds.

"I get it. You could infiltrate any village at any given time. He could obtain anything he wants from any village and that would make him a tough force to deal with." Sakura said.

"Right on the money. Orochimaru wanted children with special skills. He would search out from village to village and do anything to obtain them. Lucien-kun and myself were two of them. We were then put through a rigorus elite training program and were trained to be the best of the best assassins. When I started, I was only four."

Sakura and Ino were appauled. Shinobi training for Konoha shinobi never started until age seven and all that first year was total lecture. However, they didn't even start tough training until age nine. For a girl to undergo elite assassin training at age four just seemed inhumane.

"As you can imagine, almost all of us became extremely twisted. Even Lucien-kun didn't get out of trouble. He was so silent and never opened up to anyone and he was also my partner in training. The main trouble started when we were about five. Orochimaru had finally finished work on a special seal. One that would give its wearer strength beyond all imagination, but would link you forever to him. Also, the person who would get the seal only had a twenty percent chance at survival."

"And how many children got the seal?" Ino asked.

"A total of twenty-three. At least, that was before … the next two slated to get it ..." Tayuya paused. She had never told this story before and had no idea how she wanted to proceed from here.

"You and Lucien right." Sakura asked and Tayuya nodded.

"Yeah. Children up to age eight had no chance to survive it. I was six when it happened. Lucien got the seal."

"I'm confused." Ino said. "I was under the assumption that you and Lucien were the same age. But he's actually two years older?" Tayuya nodded. "That's odd, he doesn't look even close to sixteen."

"I'm getting to it. At the same time, my mother and the rest of the Konoha defects came upon the village that Orochimaru was building. She led a charge straight through the lines of Orochimaru's personal guard. Do you see? For four long years, my mother knew that Orochimaru had me. And for four long years she searched for me. Well, Orochimaru knew that he had no chance against the group, so he left without me. He figured that with me in kaa-san's hands then she would stop the attack and she did. Unfortunately, it was too late for Lucien, or at least I thought. The seal rejected him and he was set to die shortly."

"Fortunately for us, we had baa-chan and the pervert with us. Baa-chan was able to … I guess the word is freeze him. He was stuck in that state for two long years. That's why he only looks fourteen. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw me two years older." Tayuya giggled. "It was actually the first time he showed emotion."

"That actually makes sense. It clearly shows your long connection and why you like him so much. It's a pretty romantic story when you think about it." Ino said.

"It's not that. It's just that every time it seems like things are going downhill for me, he's always there and ready to be there for me. It's like we have this deep connection that I can't even explain." Ino and Sakura gave a high "oooo" at which Tayuya told them to never mention the incident to anyone if they wished eat solid food again.

"Oh I just wish that one day Sasuke-kun and I will share a moment like that." Ino gushed.

"No you don't!" Tayuya yelled. "Do you have ANY idea how painful it was to see him like that? He was so weak and so powerless. I had no idea when or even if he would ever wake up again and it killed me to see it."

Sakura just listened to Tayuya and she had never even heard this side of her before. She listened to Tayuya and Ino go back and forth jawing at each other about which guy was better and Sakura didn't like the sound of Ino's voice. When Tayuya talked about Lucien, it really sounded like the two were connected. Like she knew what he was thinking before it even happened. Ino however sounded rediculous. She kept sprouting off different things that Sasuke liked and all those things just so happened to be things that described her. It sounded as if Ino was trying so hard to be what Sasuke wanted, that she had no idea what he was truly like. To be honest, it didn't sound like Ino knew a thing about Sasuke despite how much Ino gushed.

Silently she tried to think about how well she knew Sasuke. She thought she maybe knew a few things about him. But when she seriously looked at things, she was similar to Ino when it came to what he liked in a girl. Everything that she thought that he liked were things that she was. Subconciously, she thought about what Naruto liked in girls. She discovered in her thoughts that whenever she was around the Tanebi shinobi, but Naruto in particular, Sakura was able to act like herself. There was no fear of judgment or fear of rejection. With Sasuke, she felt as if she had to change herself into what Sasuke would want, but it seemed that with Naruto, he liked her as Sakura. These thoughts scared Sakura immensely.

Sakura couldn't stand the yammering any longer so she decided to try the impossible. Sakura was going to try and girl talk with Tayuya.

"So, Tayuya. What was it that attracted you to him in the first place? I mean, when did you know that you … you know liked him like that? Was it when he gave you the flute?"

"No. It was actually a while before that. I knew that I liked him like that during one of our first missions outside of town. Some bimbo tried to steal information from him by flirting with him heavily. Kami, I was so pissed at that girl it took everything I had not to rip off her achilles tendon and shove it down her throat. I talked with my mom about it and she told me that the reason I was so angry was that maybe I liked him. She then had me do … something and as a result I found out that I liked him."

"What did she have you do?" Sakura asked.

"Uzumaki girls secret. Of course you'll have to undergo it someday too eh Sakura?" Tayuya said with a very creepy grin over at Sakura. "Alright now you spill it. When was it that you decided in your heart that you loved the king of pricks?"

"Well, I got picked on a lot as a little girl for my wide forehead. Actually, all the little girls except for Ino picked on me for it. It was when I was five that I met Sasuke-kun and he was everything that I wasn't. I was she and he was outspoken. I was scared and he was brave. I was weak and he was so strong. It was then that I admired him and that admiration bloomed into what it is today."

Sakura was lost in her little dream world and when she came too, she saw Tayuya pick up her bedpan and fake a retching noise. Even Ino herself had never heard this side of Sakura's story. She thought that Sakura just liked him because he was the Uchiha prince.

"I gotta say Sakura, that's fucked up. I mean there's a difference between admiration and love. It's a huge gap. What you admired had nothing to do with Sasuke the person, it was Sasuke the ego. You can't fall in love with an ego girl. Let me ask you, what do you feel about Sasuke the person?" Tayuya asked.

Sakura had no idea how to answer this question. A month ago, she would have jumped at the chance to defend Sasuke, however now she had serious doubts. She remembered how he berated Kiba and forced him to quit the team, how he yelled at herself and Ino twice in the forest without even a second thought, and she remembered the insane look that he had when he tried to run through Kiba with a kunai. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she did like Sasuke the person. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she liked the ego either.

"Hey, now that's about enough. Look, you may not like Sasuke-kun at all for some completely unknown reason, but Sakura and I do. If you can't respect that, then you shouldn't even be talking to the two of us, right Sakura?" Sakura weakly nodded with no emotion at all. Sakura again wanted to get away from the current and uncomfortable topic with something that she was really curious about.

After that, Sakura started to open up to Tayuya about things that she liked in a guy. She mentioned about how she liked a shinobi that was strong, but not overpowering, tough, but not cold, and nice, but not a doormat. Tayuya then also started to open up a bit more with some of her stories with her team. She told Sakura a lot about some of their early missions, fluffy moments with her boyfriend, and also some of the great things that her brother had done for people. Sakura probably liked that part the best.

Sakura then started to open up her team past a bit. She told them about a time where Sasuke helped to wipe out a group of bandits terrorizing a local village, Kiba entertained an entire village with dog tricks, and all the times where Sasuke was civil and kind to his teammates. Even though Sakura tried to talk about Sasuke a lot, often times the topic of discussion switched to Naruto. About how he could be such a dangerous shinobi, and then do something rediculous just to get the people around him to cheer up. After a while, physical conditioning took control of the conversation when Tayuya's stomach came up.

"Hey Tayuya, I'm curious about something." Tayuya asked what it was and Sakura answered. "It's your stomach. I mean it's so toned and looks really good. How do you do it?" Ino also chimed in on her curiosity."

"Well, I suppose I could tell you." Tayuya said. "The first step is how you eat. I can see it in both of you, you eat a lot of green and little meat right?" Ino and Sakura nodded. "Well stop. You're kunoichi and you need a full round of nutrients. Meat, eggs, breads, and in my brother's case, ramen. Next step, you just need to train regularly. You need to ..."

Tayuya stopped talking as if something else grabbed her attention. The girls in the room waited a while until they heard this tapping sound come from the roof. What seemed to be even more odd was that Tayuya seemed to know the rythem at which the tapping was coming. She then pulled out her normal flute and played a melody to the tempo of the tapping.

Sakura and Ino were confused. They wondered just what was going on, and were just waiting for something to happen. After a few seconds of waiting, the girls saw Lucien's head peak through the ceiling. Ino screamed, but Lucien dropped to the floor and silenced her by placing his hand over her mouth. He then greeted Tayuya with a kiss on the cheek. After that, he picked her up bridal style and phased through the ground with her.

"That was weird." Sakura said, and Ino agreed with her.

…....................................

Alright, there's chapter 12. Obviously I didn't cover everything, but I did cover a lot and clear up a few things.

Next chapter will officially complete the Flashback arc and I can finally get started on the Raider Arc.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Tanebi's Glory

Please Review


	13. Turned Tables

Tanebi

Chapter 13: Turned Tables

Hey guys. Welcome back. Alright, let's get started with my reviews shall we?

Devin Warren: My big problem with OC is when they have supreme power. You know? It's like, let's insert an OC that is stronger then everybody but for some reason can't save the world himself. With Lucien, one OC who is strong, but not anywhere near where Naruto is power wise is a good balance.

Starfire201: Plans never seem to work out exactly as they are drawn up. I feel that Sasuke's personality has never been stable and Fugaku , well, you'll see how close he is.

Wind797: My take on Tayuya is that she just loves making people feel uncomfortable. What I said about Sakura liking Sasuke's ego is how I actually feel about it. (Note I feel the same about NaruxHina in cannon.)

Prague: When she's serious, I doubt that she would swear as much as normal. I wanted to put a scene in there, but Catsi convinced me otherwise. I say he was right.

Harry Foureyes: Well if you're thinking that I'm thinking what you think I'm thinking, then you're thinking right. I think.

Icards: Consider it like Shippuuden Sakura got captured. There's a three year difference.

Inarealpickle: Suspence kills doesn't it?

Misuryluvsdeath: It's a bit later then usual but, with classes starting up my schedule is a lot more screwed up.

Catsi: Thanks. And I came up with it ALL BY MYSELF :)

Ididyourmom believe it: I update as quickly as I can with my other story in the works, classes, work, and everything else. Glad that you like it though.

Spider of the leaf: Sound will not appear. Tanebi has taken its place. Remember what he did in the Chunin exams though? Let's just say that he did something similar but with a different village. Never really gave any thought to the Raijin, but I'll stick with it being stolen in cannon and recovered by Sasuke.

….........................

"Are you ready Tayuya?" Kushina asked. Tayuya said nothing she just nodded her head. She and her group knew that it would only be a matter of seconds until they would be found by Chunin Exam security. In the meantime, Shizune had worked very hard to try and get the redhead Tayuya into fighting shape. The results were favorable as the redhead in front of the group was ready and raring to go.

"Remember the plan." Lucien said. "Sasuke will likely come forward hard. Avoid the initial rush and let the food pill effects wear off. When that happens, the Uchiha will be ripe for the pickings. Pick your moment and strike."

"Pst as if I'll need that. I'll beat that prissy boy's ass into the ground." Tayuya replied. "Still though, that's a good strategy. Thanks a lot Lucien."

"Good luck honey." Kushina said as she gave Tayuya a quick kiss on the cheek which Tayuya didn't really appreciate. After that, the security force came in and forcefully took Tayuya to the waiting room.

In a private sector of the medical ward, Fugaku was checking over the final preparations made on Sasuke. He wanted to be sure that everything was in place for the utter destruction of the Tanebi girl and the restoration of Konoha's honor.

"Well Kabuto, how are things progressing?" Fugaku asked.

"Very well. It wasn't an easy task, but we managed to restore all the wounds he received from his previous encounter. The only problem we will have is his chakra. You see, his chakra is taking a while to restore based on how much he used in his last battle. We can give him a food pill, but with the amount of energy he lost, I doubt that he has more then a couple of minutes of fighting. If that girl can somehow get past that range, there's a good chance that Sasuke's body will completely collapse." Kabuto answered.

"And if that happens, why can't he just pop in another food pill?" One of the ANBU accompanying Fugaku asked.

"At Sasuke's age that could be fatal. You see, now is Sasuke's first prime chakra growth. If he takes multiple food pills on little chakra, his entire system could blow and very little could prevent a full body collapse. Best case, he would never fight again." Kabuto answered.

"Oh, and what are the chances of the girl lasting two minutes?" Fugaku asked.

"Very little. However, reports did state that she somehow escaped. She may get little medical treatment, but it may be enough to give her the edge that she needs to last the first two minutes. I've already given the pill to Sasuke and told him to take it as soon as the match starts to optimize its time." Kabuto said.

Time passed and all the civilians had made it back to their seats. Doors to the medical ward had once again opened up and people were free to see the patients. Ino had been cleared to leave, but she stayed to keep Sakura company. The monitor in the ward was still operating, so both girls were able to see the fight. While Sakura and Ino were both cheering for Sasuke, Sakura was extremely worried about what would happen to her new friend.

Kushina took Naruto with her to the Hokage's box. Her reasoning was that she didn't want Naruto getting involved in this match as well.

"Ah Naruto, so nice to see you again." The Kazekage greeted. "I haven't seen you for a while. That was one hell of a match you had with my daughter in the first round."

"Thank you so much Kazekage-sama. I'm sorry I had to eliminate Temari, but you can't allow personal attachments to effect yourself on the battlefield." Naruto said with a bow. His response got a laugh from the Kazekage.

"So respectful today. I guess you have been taking lessons in manners from your sister." replied the Kazekage.

"Well, oji-san, it's the chunin exams. I need to set a good example for the other nations." Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head. The Kazekage said nothing, but he did give another small laugh.

"So Kushina, I see you brought your boy up here. Well that's good because now he won't involve himself in a lost cause like that daughter of yours." Fugaku jeered. Naruto said nothing, but glared at Fugaku. He knew that any response to the insult at his sister could cause an incident. "So, it looks like that boy of yours has a brain after all."

"Yes he does Fugaku. And you don't. Now shut up ass up and watch your son get pummeled." Kushina responded.

"Kaa-san!!!" Naruto yelled. "What about all this 'start an incident shit' you told me about?"

"Don't worry Naruto. When you get to be our leader, you can piss off leaders of other nations too. Until then you just have to be civil to douchebags like this." Kushina told him.

"Not to interrupt such a touching family moment, but do you two even realize that I'm here?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes." Both Naruto and Kushina responded before they sat down in their seats.

"You know Fugaku, I wonder if you're in the mood for a bet." Kushina asked. Fugaku looked intrigued, but wary at the same time. "Your silence tells all. My husband left several scrolls involving research he did on several jutsu. Now they were protected with a blood seal so I know that you can't see them yet, but at the same time I know that you wouldn't destroy something so powerful."

"Get on with the proposal Kushina." Fugaku yelled.

"So impatient." Kushina responded. "Anyway, if my child wins the fight, you have to give me the scrolls. If your child wins, I will have Naruto here open the scrolls himself. What do you think?"

Fugaku didn't say anything for a while. It was a golden opportunity for him, but at the same time, he knew that Kushina had something up her sleeve. He knew that she was behind the kidnapping of Tayuya, and she likely knew how bad her injuries were. At the same time, this chance was too good for him to pass up. "No deal. You see, we don't know what's in that scroll. What's in there may overlap with what we already know. I think that you could maybe throw in something else to sweeten the deal."

"Do you have any suggestions on what may sweeten the deal Fugaku. If it's good, we can work something out. After all, that's what makes gambling so much fun." _Besides I never lose a bet. Okay, so I only bet with Tsunade but still._

"Give me the Hyuuga girl." Fugaku said. Everyone in the group was shocked. They were not expecting something so huge.

"Hinata? Why would you want her?" Kushina said.

"Mating stock obviously. When we lost the Hyuuga, we lost a great power. That Hyuuga girl is strong, and I can see that she would give us several strong children. Besides, I bet that a Hyuuga and Uchiha hybrid would be an … interesting combo."

"Hinata neechan?" Naruto asked.

"Any decision involving clan matters belong to the clan head. If I were to accept this proposal, I would need the consent of Hiashi Hyuuga. You know as well as I do that the village leader has no jurisdiction over individual clans. Besides, I don't think that Hiashi would hand over his own daughter." Kushina answered.

"You bring up a good point. Well then, there may be something else Tanebi has of ours that would be of use."

"Well, we do have something else, but it will require something else on the part of Konoha. After all, what I have in mind is much more important then a few scrolls." Kushina told him. "A couple of years ago, the country of Wave sent Tanebi an envoy about a local tyrant. Tanebi routed the tyrant and in turn annexed the territory. Therefore, we will give you all rights to Wave. However, as I stated, we would need some extra input from Konoha."

"Very interesting indeed. Alright, and here is what Konoha will offer. We'll offer the scrolls and Melina Uchiha. Melina is an Uchiha maid, but has activated her sharingan. I'll say she's worthless in combat outside of her sharingan, but she does make a good maid. What do you say Kushina? Do we have a deal?" Fugaku asked.

"Interesting, but there is something else that has my interest. Give me a complete record of Sakura Haruno. I have several questions about her that need answers." Kushina asked.

Fugaku froze. "The girl? Why her?"

"You know why Fugaku. I want any files in the Konoha vault in reference to Sakura Haruno. Throw those in and we have ourselves a deal." Kushina said as she stuck out her hand.

"You have a deal." Fugaku said as he shook Kushina's hand to seal the deal.

_Hook, line and sinker. _Kushina thought. "Jiraiya, would you do me a favor and draw up the contract to the bet would you. Not that I don't trust you Fugaku … actually I really don't trust you to follow through."

"The feelings mutual Kushina. Actually, I think that a contract should be drawn up. I don't mind having that pervert draw it up. With our sharingan, we can point out anything in it we don't think is advantageous to us." Fugaku said.

Jiraiya left and quickly drew up a contract. When he came back, both Kushina and Fugaku looked it over before signing their names to the bottom of the contract sealing the deal. Naruto however was left to his own thoughts.

_Sakura? Why on earth would Kaa-san bet Wave to get those things? She can't fool me though, she baited him to get those scrolls involving Sakura. I'm sure this Melina girl is just the icing on the cake that Kaa-san was expecting. My question though is what's so important about her? And why did Fugaku freeze up when the bet was made?_

Now was the time for the fight to begin. The first competitor to come out was the red haired gennin from Tanebi. On her face was a look of pure determination. What confused Fugaku though was that Tayuya was not nearly as injured as he was led to believe. That in itself had him a bit concerned about the bet he just made. Next to come out was Sasuke. Every smear on his face had been taken off, and he had on a new set of clothes identical to the ones he had on before. His face was one of pure rage and anger.

"Nothing against you, but that bastard is watching and you are his girlfriend." Sasuke said as he smirked his face. "I am really going to enjoy this."

"Don't make me laugh. I've been sitting on my ass for the past day and a half, while you've had to work your ass off to make it here. Which one of us is more fresh?" Tayuya replied.

"Are you finished?" Sasuke asked with a frown, anger evident on his face.

"That's good you bastard. Quoting that bimbo from last night I see."

"Oh I am going to enjoy this." Sasuke replied as he took a food pill out from his supplies. "The second I take this, I will become more powerful then anyone you've ever faced before in your life. Do you honestly think that you will stand a chance against me?"

"Shut up you bastard. I'll kick your ass right into the ground."

"As if you could. You were barely able to beat Sakura and there's no way that she would even be able to even touch me. Give up now, and I'll only break a few of your limbs. After all, gotta make him pay for what he did to me." Sasuke answered.

The proctor announced the match and the participants of the finals. Quite obviously Sasuke got a standing ovation, while Tayuya was greeted to a chorus of boos and jeers from the onlooking crowd. Sakura, looking at the screen was shocked at what she saw from Tayuya.

"I don't believe it. She's looking a little too healthy to fight here. Right Ino?" Sakura asked.

"I'll have to agree with you forehead. I mean she couldn't even attack you without collapsing and now here she is ready to take on Sasuke-kun. They must have some great medicine in Tanebi or something." Ino replied.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Or maybe I just misread the scans on her or something. I mean I am new to the medical world." Sakura said, but she wasn't being honest with herself. _There's no way that I misread those scans. The only way that she's this ready is if they have some legendary medic, or that's not Tayuya. But if that's the case then who is that? I wish that Naruto was … wait. _

Sakura's eyes widened. She looked from the arena monitor to where the hokage box is and saw Naruto sitting there next to his mother. She looked back again to the monitor and again back to the box. "Could it be?" She muttered.

"Huh? What are you muttering about forehead?" Ino asked.

"Huh? No, nothing Ino, just thinking about something." Sakura replied. _Alright so it can't be Naruto. He's right next to the Hokage. But why would he be there not here? It could be that she doesn't want him getting involved, but even then she could have just had his sensei monitor his moves._

The proctor announced the match one more time and then set both combatants loose. Immediately, Sasuke popped the food pill in his mouth and benefited from the chakra that flowed though his body. He went off like a rocket right at the Tanebi kunoichi. However, she elegantly parried the attack and he rushed right passed her.

Sasuke skidded to a stop and once again went right after her with another punch to the face. Tayuya however, bent over backwards and kicked him in the stomach, grabbed his arms and threw him across the arena.

Sasuke grunted and made his way back up to his feet. "So, you think that you're good stuff just because you can dodge and then attack like some girl. Alright, I originally planned on taking it easy on you, but that's not the case. Sharingan!!" Sasuke yelled as he activated his clans famous jutsu.

_Alright, this makes things a lot tougher._ Tayuya thought. _It works out a bit better for me as the clock on that food pill will be wasted faster. All a part of the plan that Lucien came up with. I doubt he'll use any ninjutsu because of the chakra drain, but still, I'd best be ready._

Sasuke again rushed forward. This time, he prepared a kick at the left ribs of the young girl, but she evaded to the right. Sasuke saw this coming however and countered effectively. He stopped his momentum completely and aimed a punch at Tayuya's ribs. Tayuya was surprised and parried the punch with a kick. Again Sasuke predicted the attack and launched a kick aimed at Tayuya's face. Tayuya grabbed the punch and launched a punch of her own. Sasuke grabbed that punch and hit the young girl with a head butt right in the forehead.

Tayuya got most of the impact and slid back a few feet. She then started to feel some liquid begin to drip down her face. She put her hand to it and found out that she was cut open. The crowd noticed the blood and erupted in cheer. They knew that victory for their savior was close at hand.

"Ouch, that looks pretty nasty. Oh well, that's what she gets for trying to take down Sasuke-kun." Ino gloated.

Sakura nodded, but was still lost in complete thought. She knew that there was no possible way that Tayuya could be this healthy. _All right now this is odd. She's fighting Sasuke-kun on an even level. She's not only healthy on the outside but on the inside. But what really scares me is her technique. She's fighting like Naruto before he showed his true face. But he's up there unless … wait … could it be? _"Naruto?" Sakura muttered.

"What? Did you say something forehead?" Ino wondered.

"Naruto! That's Naruto down there Ino! I'm positive!" Sakura said with more emotion then anything all day.

"That's a nice theory forehead. But that new boyfriend of yours is up there in the Hokage's box seat sitting right next next to the Tanebi leader and Kazekage There's no way that he could be down there." Ino answered.

"Pig, let me ask you something. What is Tayuya's bloodline ability?" Sakura asked.

"Shape shifting duh forehead. Weren't you listening when she told us that?"

"Exactly. So who's to say that the 'Naruto' that we see up there isn't just Tayuya using her bloodline ability?" Sakura answered.

"But … she was in custody by Konoha security. At least that's what reports said. Wouldn't they have caught onto her?"

"Not if that's Naruto. Remember Ino, Naruto did the same thing against Lee your teammate, and I'm positive that is what they are doing here. Why else do you think that 'Naruto' is sitting up there, next to the Hokage? 'He's' there to try and convince the Hokage and Kazekage that they're not cheating. Why else do you think that he's there and not … here." Sakura said.

"That's horrible. They're cheating. We have to do something forehead."

"Like what Ino?" Sakura asked. "We have no proof. Nobody would have any proof. To the Kazekage it would just seem as if two fan girls are trying to justify why their hero lost in the finals to a girl."

"And what about the diagnosis?" Ino wondered.

"No good. Use your head pig. I'm a gennin with no official medical training at all. The medical staff cleared her to compete. Whose word will they believe?" Ino was silent and completely appalled at the thought of Tanebi cheating. Sakura was angry, well at least she should have been. Here it was, her crush getting likely screwed out of a win. But on the other hand, she was grateful that Tayuya would be kept out of danger. Add onto that, Naruto taking her place and fighting with Sasuke. _Not only that, but it's obvious that Naruto is strong. I believe that this ability takes up about 20 percent of his total chakra reserves. However, he may be holding back more to put up a good show. How strong is he?_

Tayuya wiped the blood off her forehead and once again readied herself for Sasuke's assault. Sasuke came at her with a flurry of punches and kicks. However, Tayuya, knowing and starting to figure out Sasuke's pattern of attacks, was able to dodge or parry every single one of them, and it was starting to annoy Sasuke heavily.

Going against the advice of Kabuto, Sasuke prepared a ninjutsu. His clans trademark fireball to be exact. Sasuke fired it, but Tayuya was able to see it coming and easily dodged it. He then used his phoenix flower jutsu, but again Tayuya was able to get away. She looked around after she landed and saw Sasuke ready to fire his fireball at point blank.

"No Sasuke-kun! Don't do it!" Sakura yelled. She didn't care if Sasuke won the match, but she would be devastated if something happened to Naruto.

Up in the box, Kushina looked to be very calm about the whole thing, but if one looked closely, they could see Kushina biting her bottom lip to the point to where she was drawing blood.

Sasuke fired his fireball right at Tayuya and a cloud of smoke erupted. At that moment, all the color in Sakura's face left her. Soon after the color left, Sakura started to cry heavily. For her, it was as if she lost one of, if not the most important person in her life.

Kushina still had that calm look on her face. That calm grin turned into a smile, followed by a full blown laugh, which drew the looks of everyone in the box. Even the blank look on the face of Naruto. When questioned about it, Kushina just pointed to the retreating smoke and everybody had to look closely to see what it was that leader of the new village was laughing at.

When the smoke cleared, the people saw a dome of mud sticking out of the ground. Another thing that they saw, was a senbon sticking out of Sasuke's arm, and the boy lay emotionless on the ground. After all this, the dome retreated to reveal Tayuya, completely unblemished from the attack.

"H-how did you? When?" Sasuke asked.

"Sloppy sloppy you son of a bitch. Fine I'll tell you. I saw that same tactic used just today. Therefore, I knew from what direction and angle you would come from. Using that, I was able to hit you with the poisoned senbon and now your entire chakra system is completely turned to shit. You think that because you're an Uchiha then the same trick will work twice. So arrogant. Oh and by the way, this was all HIS plan."

This sent Sasuke into a frenzied rage. This was the second time in that very day that the boy from Tanebi had made a public disgrace out of him and he was fed up with it. He wanted to get up, but it wouldn't respond.

"Don't bother getting up. Your network had minimal chakra to begin with. Take into effect the food pill, the ninjutsu, and now the drug, and you should slip into unconsciousness right about … now." Tayuya said as she looked over to see Sasuke stop struggling and fall into dream land.

Fugaku was livid. He just couldn't believe that his son had lost. He was angry at his son for losing, Tayuya for winning, Kushina because, well, he just really hated her, and Kabuto for telling him that there was no way that Sasuke could lose. "That senbon was drugged wasn't it?"

"Yes but it's all within the guidelines. Senbon are considered ninja tools and whatever a senbon is laced with is a part of the senbon. Special drugs that eliminate every ounce of chakra in the body. He's done for." Kushina said with a smile. "It was all a part of the plan we came up with. Anger Sasuke enough and with his limit on chakra he'll be forced to use the same tactic he used earlier and think that it will work. In the ninjutsu state, he'll be vulnerable enough for attack, and then all she needed to do was use her earth defense to block the attack. Not that it needed much chakra in it to defense. When I saw hints of the mud wall, I knew it was over. Now, about our deal."

Fugaku looked over to Naruto. Something that the boy did in his seat just drew his gaze and what he saw enlightened him on everything. He saw Naruto clutch at his ribs. Then all the pieces came together in his mind. What really angered him though was that the plan was completely flawless. "Well played Kushina. You win, but let me tell you this. I know what you did and the foul play that occurred here. Don't think that you can get away with this. Nobody makes a fool of the Uchiha clan."

"No Fugaku, only yourselves make fools of your clan. Bring the scrolls that I won along with the Uchiha girl to my hotel one hour after the closing ceremonies. I don't want the originals, but I do want copies of the originals." Kushina answered.

"An hour is cutting it close Kushina. But I'll see what I can do." Fugaku said as he quickly left the box. He wanted to blow off some steam before having to announce that the Tanebi 'kunoichi' was the winner of the chunin exam finals. On the way, he called for an attendant of the Uchiha clan and asked him to get the requested scrolls and the girl Melina. He would prove to be a man of his word, but he was going to make sure that Kushina and the entire village of Tanebi would pay for their sins. He just needed some time.

Sakura in the meantime was relieved that Naruto was alright while Ino was ranting about how unfair it was that Tanebi could get away with cheating like that. Sakura did what she could to get on her feet and make it down to the arena floor. She wanted to talk to Naruto privately and tell the boy just what she thought about him taking his sister's place. Sakura smiled sweetly for numerous reasons. For starters, she was happy that everyone had made it through the match alright. Number two, she was ecstatic for Naruto and she was so happy that he won, it drowned out the fact that Sasuke lost. Finally, she was going to have a nice little talk with the Tanebi shinobi and give him a private conversation about the little switcharoo they pulled on Sasuke. Oh yes, there was much to smile about in Sakura's world.

Suddenly, as all the Tanebi shinobi mobbed Naruto, who was still faking an appearance as Tayuya. _I don't know why, but this feels like the time that Shion proposed to me and I don't like it. _

…......................................................

Some of you may have predicted that I would have Tayuya and Naruto switch, but for those who didn't, I hope I shocked you. I also hope that I didn't sell it too much before I revealed it.

I'm also sure most, if not all of you are very curious about what I'm doing with the whole Sakura angle. I will also mention later on why Sakura's medical files are so important and soon.

I've got a couple of chapter before the story catches up to the present too. Next chapter will feature Sakura's conversation with Naruto, the exchange, Tanebi's departure, and maybe the events that will lead up to the war if I run out of the desired room. Followed by a chapter or two about the missing document and search for thief.

I haven't done much polishing on the previous chapters recently, but I will get to that most likely before I even begin the next chapter on F, W, and V.

Also, I haven't had real control over my net recently so this I haven't really been able to send this to Catsi.

That should be everything I want to cover now.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Exchange

Please review.


	14. Confrontation

Tanebi

Chapter 14: Confrontations

School is out and it is awesome to be back in the saddle. Let's start on reviews.

Sgohan79: Thanks. I enjoy it

Catsi: Be ready cause my style has been … tweaked. For the better of course.

Prague: Thanks a lot. I'm glad that I can still surprise people.

Panchopanda: I'm glad you liked the story so far.

Wherermychips: Given time and anger, Sasuke can improve greatly. He uses hatred as motivation to get much stronger.

Lexor: I'm glad you liked it.

Lonewolfbloodstorm: Both sides know about the cheating but they all lack sufficient proof.

Wind79: She will, but when the two are completely alone.

Miseryluvsdeath: I'll make the next one worth the wait.

I.E.T.S: Thanks a ton and welcome. I normally don't take this long, but I finished busting my butt on a brutal schedule.

GuyverUnit1: I didn't notice that. I'll be sure to change that.

Harryfoureyes: I was acutally hoping that the people would forget. I want multiple stories going on at once so the plot doesn't get incredibly dull.

Inarealpickle: It does. At least more then a battery operated battery charger.

Man it's been a long time hasn't it. I actually needed to read the last two chapters just to figure out what the heck I had been up to in the story. Oh well all the hard work paid off as I got a 3.14 GPA this semester.

I forgot anything else I want to note so let's get started with the continuation of the show.

…..............................

Only a day had past in Konoha, but many of the other villages representatives were out of Konoha. Although most of the villagers that left were from villages such as Ame who had no participants in the finals. Other rich lords were on the way out simply because they had spent so much time in the village that they had gotten bored or wanted to flee from debt collectors. After day one, the only two villages people still remained in Konoha, Suna and Tanebi.

Kushina wanted to pull out of Konoha as soon as the tournament was over, but Tayuya was not quite ready to leave the village and Tanebi's departure would need to wait. Suna stayed as added reinforcement to Tanebi's defense, that and Gaara didn't want to leave Hinata's side. There were still several people who wanted to have her killed because of her relation to the Hyuuga. In the whole time that Tanebi was still there Sakura just wanted to get a brief moment alone with Naruto to talk over everything that had happened recently.

However, every time she wanted to do that, something got in her way. The day of the tournament final, Naruto was mobbed the entire day by Tanebi villagers. The next few days she was in the hospital, and every day since, something has gotten in her way to see him. It looked like only one person could help her, but Sakura had no idea how she would react.

"You have to be shittin me." Tayuya nearly laughed after hearing Sakura's request. Sakura was already embarrassed to try and get help from Naruto's sister and her reaction to her request only furthered to deepen Sakura's blush. "So you want to see my brother all alone before we go?" Sakura nodded. "What's in it for me?" Tayuya folded her arms over her chest.

"Uh free Raman?" Sakura had no idea what Tayuya liked, but she assumed that since Naruto had mentioned that he absolutely loved the stuff than that would mean that Tayuya liked it as well.

"Ugh no. Kami no Pinky." Tayuya made a face that showed complete disgust. "I get enough of that shit at home and every time Naruto picks dinner on missions. You have to do better."

"Dango?" Sakura suggested.

"What was that?" This time Tayuya made a face that showed interest. Using her abilities as a ninja, Sakura could see Tayuya start to salivate at the thought of the dumplings.

"Dango. Konoha has one of the best dango stands in the entire world. Unfortunately, I can't seem to remember where it is. But if you agree to help me, I could think _really _hard and find out where they are." Sakura wore a grin on her face that suggested to the older girl that she found her bargaining tool.

"Alright Pinky. I'll help you talk to my brother if you show me where this dango stand is and if you pay. Deal?" Tayuya stuck out her hand.

"Deal." Sakura shook Tayuya's outstretched arm.

"Good for me, bad for you Pinky. You have no idea how much dango I can eat in one sitting."

It didn't matter how much the dinner with Tayuya would effect her wallet, Sakura was just excited to finally get her chance to meet with Naruto one-on-one for the first time in a week. This could also be her final chance as Tanebi was just waiting for a few more things before they took their leave of Konoha for good.

…...........

"Fugaku-sama, we have everything that Tanebi's leader requested from the vault. Shall we deliver it tonight?" A jonin member of the Uchiha clan mentioned to Fugaku.

"No. I want you to bring everything to me. I want to make sure that you got everything correct and copy all of the girl's information."

The jonin took out a large storage scroll and released a plethora of documents spilled out onto Fugaku's desk. "Hokage-sama, if I may ask a question? Why would they want to know about the girl on Sasuke-sama's team? Does it have anything to with that odd power she used in the exams?"

"Baru, I can't tell you. But what I will tell you is that Tanebi can't know the truth about her. It would be completely ruin the project we have tried to complete over the past couple of years." Fugaku started to sift through the large pile of scrolls until a particular scroll came to his sight. "That's why I want you to take this scroll back into the vault."

"The Sakura Haruno Project? What could Tanebi possibly want with this, and why can't they have it?" Baru asked.

"That scroll contains one of the deepest of Konoha's secrets. Over a hundred years of research and experimentation are held inside of that scroll. Every Hokage this village has ever known has been a part of the research in that scroll. ANBU have dedicated lives to understanding the mystery of that scroll. Orochimaru was banished from the village because of this scroll. That is why Tanebi can't have it no matter what debt I owe to Kushina."

"Wow. A document like this certainly can't be held by them. I'll return this back to the vault as soon as possible Hokage-sama." Baru bowed to Fugaku and raced back to Konoha's hidden vault, leaving Fugaku alone in his office.

"Kushina will obviously be looking for that scroll in particular. Good thing I prepared a duplicate with much of the critical information omitted. Only the highest of ninja and the Hokage have ever laid eyes on that scroll and read it. Minato was much too noble and dedicated to this village to show Kushina, and I'm positive of that. Only Jiraiya is a problem, but according to the research line, he never actually held it."

….......................

After nearly bankrupting Sakura over enough dango sticks to build a house of them, Tayuya told Sakura that she would talk to Naruto and have him meet her inside the park at midnight on the button. Sakura couldn't wait. She had never in her life been as anxious as the final moments before meeting her new friend from Tanebi. She was even more excited now then when she was first announced as Sasuke's teammate, but she still had no idea why she felt so restless. Even though it was well past her normal bedtime, Sakura's eyes just wouldn't feel even the least bit heavy.

Sakura arrived on the scene Tayuya told her to be at well before midnight. She didn't want Naruto to think that she was not a second late. Her legs were shaking partly from the cold air running into her legs, but also because she was nervous. The time was starting to tick by. Finally after a nearly infinite amount of ticks from her watch, midnight struck and the gongs from the village rung to alert the entire village that the next day had arrived. It was in that moment of darkness, that Sakura saw a familiar shrouded figure approach. It was the boy she had been seeking out for the past week.

"Sakura, it's been a while, or at least it feels like a long time! How have you been?" Naruto sped up to a run and took a seat on the bench right next to Sakura.

"I'm fine." Sakura waited for this moment for a while, and couldn't help the large warm smile that came to her face when Naruto arrived. She had all the words prepared that she wanted to say and the things that she wanted to talk about. Ever since Naruto arrived however, those topics flew from her mind. It was as if she was meeting him for the first time and she had no idea what to say.

"To be honest, I was a bit surprised when Tayuya came home so late tonight. But then she told me that you fed her dango of all things to find a private meeting with me. I hope she didn't take everything from you. I know how much of that she can eat."

"No, she didn't take everything. I still have my shirt." The two shared a brief laugh at that. It was a bit odd for her though. It was as if the laughter was just a cover for the awkward silence that was shared only a couple of moments ago.

"Naruto, I know what you did." Sakura figured it would be best just to be blunt about it. Anything would be better then the silence.

"What did I do?" Naruto tried his best to look confused, but even in the moonlight, Sakura could tell Naruto knew exactly what she was talking about. His eyes told Sakura the entire story.

"You know. You took Tayuya's place in the finals and beat Sasuke-kun using your kekki-genkai." Sakura spoke with conviction, like she was absolutely positive of the deed naruto had done.

"Sakura, I have no idea what you are talking about. Tayuya got healing from Shizune and competed herself in the finals. You even saw me in the box right next to the Hokage and my mother." Naruto spoke with coviction, but his eyes looked weak, as if he really wanted Sakura to drop the whole thing.

"I'm not mad about it. In fact, I thought it was really sweet. You possibly saved your sister's life. I just want to hear you say you did it." Sakura was on the verge of crying. Even though the reaction from Naruto was exactly what she was expecting, it hurt so much more when he actually denied her a response.

"I would love to say that Sakura. I would love to say that I entered combat for my sister, thus saving her and teach that prick a lesson for everything he's put you, your friends, Hinata, everyone through, but the fact remains that I didn't do it. I'm sorry, but everything you've said is nothing but conjecture." Sakura didn't buy Naruto's words at all. Naruto sounded less convincing and more desperate with every word he said. Not only that, but he averted his gaze from Sakura's eyes to the forest. As ninja they are trained to lie to their enemies, but Naruto was having a much more difficult time with it then he should have.

"I see. You don't trust me do you?" Sakura's voice skipped in the phrase and she could feel the sting of tears start to appear from her eyes. "I guess it's natural I mean we hardly know each other and we are from different villages." Sakura could tell that she had to get out of there now before the floodgates opened right in front of Naruto. She got up and tried to run off, but something stopped her. Naruto grabbed her wrist and embraced her.

"I do trust you." Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear. "It's not you I don't trust."

"How can you say that you trust me you trust me and then lie to me?" That was it for Sakura. The floodgates opened, and Sakura tried to bury her head into Naruto's chest. She didn't want him to see her crying even if it was a very bad spot to hide.

"You were followed." Naruto said barely above a whisper. Sakura's head popped up from his chest and she stared at him with puffy red eyes. "In those trees, I feel two chakra signals, and I know they don't belong to anyone in my crew. That's why I couldn't tell you about what I did or did not do. If they found out something, they would surely tell the Hokage and that would kill the reputation of my village, and as much as I like you, I couldn't do that to mother or my sister." Naruto reached out to wipe away any lingering tears from Sakura's face. Sakura closed her eyes and let the touch of the shinobi comfort her.

Sakura felt like a fool. Now that he mentioned them, Sakura could also feel the two charkra signals, and both of them were very familiar. One of them was hidden pretty well, but Sakura knew that one from a mile away. Also, Sakura wouldn't be a good student if she couldn't point out where her own instructor was. She figured that she was so excited about seeing Naruto again, she missed out on the chakra traces following her.

"I guess I'd better go. My mother likely figured out what I'm up to and is a nervous wreck along the house even if I brought Hinata-chan, Neji, and Lucien just in case you were followed." Naruto broke the embrace and rubbed the back of his head. "It was really nice meeting you Sakura-chan. I hope we meet again, but with the way our villages are acting, I hope it's not soon."

The pinkette had no idea what that meant. She knew that she would miss the blond haired shinobi seconds after he left the village. How could he spend so much time with her, make her feel like a goddess, and add a suffix to her name, and yet say that he didn't want to see her soon. She didn't know if she was supposed to be angry, sad, or confused. In her case, at the moment, she was all three.

Sakura was snapped out of her reverie when she saw Naruto's face get dangerously close to her cheek. She started to blush deep as her hair color and was completely floored. Her mind was merely caught on the phrase "is he going to kiss me," over and over again. Her eyes opened wide in surprise right before she felt his lips touch her cheek.

The kiss only lasted a brief second, but for Sakura it lasted for hours. For the first time in her life, she realized that someone had started intruding on that special place inside her that Sakura felt was only reserved for Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto turned around and walked back to where his hotel was leaving the tranced pinkette with her own thoughts and the two shinobi that followed her.

Sakrua nearly jumped when she heard the leaves move from the trees. She readied a kunai just in case of a trap and turned around quickly.

"Geez forehead. I know we intruded on your private time but that doesn't mean that you should take a kunai out on me."

"Ino, Kurenai-sensei, may I ask why you followed me?" Sakura put the kunai back in her pouch and crossed her arms infront of her chest. Her face was now a beat red because she knew that Ino and her sensei witnessed the kiss.

"Sakura, you need to explain yourself." Kurenai folded her arms over her chest as well and glared at the gennin. "Going out in the middle of the night to meet a possible enemy and cheater in the chunin exams by yourself. The academy better have trained you better and I know for damn well sure know that I trained you not to do something so reckless." Kurenai's face was red too but unlike Sakura, Kurenai was enraged.

"You don't understand sensei. I had to meet Naruto tonight. It was my last chance to see him and I had to know if he did what I think he did."

"Don't give me that shit Sakura!" Sakrua leaped back. She had no idea Kurenai would be this angry with her. "You're a kunoichi Sakura, not some love crazed schoolgirl. If you had suspicions of cheating, you should come to me about it and not take it upon yourself to meet an enemy by yourself. Your behavior over the last couple of weeks is inexcusable. I trained you better then this. You need to figure out where your allegiances lay and who your allies are, because your actions tonight could have screwed Konoha out of a lot of missions and a lot of money. We'll continue this in the morning and don't be surprised if for some strange reason you don't make chunin."

Kurenai stormed off after letting Sakura have it. If what Kurenai said was supposed to make Sakura feel down and bad about what she did, Kurenai failed. All it did was leave an angry Sakura and a scared Ino alone. Nothing good could possibly come from that.

"Why Ino? Why did you go and have to tell my sensei to follow me? Why couldn't you just butt out and mind your own business for once in your damn life?" The unnerving thing for Ino was that Sakura wasn't raining her voice and yelling like Kurenai did. Sakura spoke evenly with venom lingering off every word.

"I should be asking you what's up Sakura. I mean, did you think that I missed the expression on your face when you thought Naruto was killed by Lee in the prelims? You looked like you wanted to cry, hug his remains tightly to yours and pray to Kami he lived. In the finals, you clung to him as a pillar of support, talked to him and basically spilled your guts to him. Don't even get me started on those tears that popped up when you thought Sasuke-kun killed him in the finals. I want to know what happened to you because I'm worried about you. I don't want some guy I hardly know getting your hopes up and just crushing them."

Sakura was confused. She thought that Ino had told Kurenai about what she was doing out of possible jealousy or hatred, but this was new. Sakura could tell the genuine feelings of concern that her friend had for her. It seemed as if the Ino that Sakura had been feuding with over Sasuke for the last few years had been transformed into the Ino that she made friends with when they were young kids. That helped quell the anger from the Kurenai fueled rage.

"Ino, I'm glad that you were worried about me, but I'm fine. Maybe my affections have changed a bit, but I don't think that's bad. You always said you wanted Sasuke-kun for yourself anyway." Sakura loosened up her pose and dropped her arms from her chest back to her sides.

"But this is different Sakura. I always figured that I would get Sasuke-kun and you would get some loser from _this_ village, not another one. I mean, if we go to war with Tanebi, what will you do? Would you run away from here and join our enemies? Would you desert us? Would you desert me?" Ino could feel tears swell up in her eyes at the thought of fighting her best friend in the near future.

"That's what you're worried about? Ino I'm not going anywhere." Sakura walked over and hugged Ino. "Look, I may be starting to like Naruto, but I love Konoha more then anything. Nothing that anyone does for me and tells me can change that."

"Promise?" Ino sniffled.

"Of course. I promise Ino, you and I will never meet in combat unless it's for Sasuke-kun." Sakura broke the hug and responded with a smirk. Ino seemed to be puzzled so Sakura wanted to elaborate. "As I said, I am only _starting _to like Naruto. Sasuke-kun still dominates how I feel, and I'm sure after Tanebi leaves, we can go back to our feud."

"You know forehead, it may be better that you fall for the other guy. It will save you heartbreak when Sasuke-kun and I get married."

"You wish pig."

"Whatever forehead. You want to walk back together? I mean it is really late." Ino started to leave ahead of Sakura.

"Nah, I want to stay out here for a little while, enjoy the moon a bit more." Ino shrugged her shoulders and walked ahead of Sakura. The pink haired girl took a deep breath of relief and sat down on the same bench that her and Naruto shared before the whole mess started. Her mind darted back to the moment right before Naruto kissed her. More specifically, the soft words that Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear before the kiss happened.

"You were right," he whispered.

…..................

Dawn broke and it was the day Tanebi and Suna were scheduled to leave the village. Sakura stayed home. She wanted her most recent memory of Naruto to be the one under the moonlight. She still had yet to see Kurenai in the morning, and decided that she would wait for the red-eyed jonin to come to her. But now it was exchange time and the horde of ANBU accompanying the hokage and a 16 year old girl showed Kushina that Fugaku was a man of his word.

"Fugaku, it's nice to see that you haven't forgotten." Kushina crossed her arms and all her guards readied a kunai.

"Yes, I told you that I cash in on all my debts. I brought all the scrolls you asked for," Fugaku motioned to an ANBU holding a storage scroll. "I also brought Melina." Fugaku motioned to the girl at his side. She had black hair with matching eyes and a very timid demeanor.

"It's nice to meet you Kushina-sama. I hope you can find some use for me." Melina said softly as she bowed to Kushina.

"Rise." Kushina beckoned to Melina. "Now, Fugaku tells me you have an active sharingan. Is this true?" Melina nodded her head slightly telling Kushina that she can. Kushina proceeded to ask her to activate it and she agreed. Melina put her hands together and focused her chakra into her eyes and a sharingan with one comma in each eye appeared. The redhaired Tanebi leader smiled slightly in satisfaction.

"Satisfied with everything Kushina?" Fugaku scowled. It was as if he was disgusted with the mere sight of Kushina is his village.

"With the girl yes. However I am wondering if you gave me every scroll I asked for." Kushina focused her gaze to the Hokage. She was seemingly staring a hole right through the Konoha leader.

"Of course I did. Every document left behind by your late husband and every scroll in the back with a reference to Sakura Haruno. It's all in that storage scroll. Now I would appreciate it if you would just take everything and get out and don't come back here." Fugaku motioned for both the ANBU to hand the storage scroll over and for Melina to walk to Kushina's side.

Kushina opened up the scroll and gave it to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, analyze every single scroll in there and if there is one, and I mean one scroll missing or has omissions at all, the consequences could be fatal. Cheating us out of information that is rightfully ours could cause us to declare war on you. That being said, is there anything else you have for us?" Kushina spoke with a dead even tone. It was as if she knew what Fugaku was up to.

"Don't insult my clan's integrity Kushina. I gave you everything we have on the matter and that is final. Don't issue us with idle threats that you have no intention of cashing in on either." The tension between the two leaders was thick, and it seemed as if they would go at it in only a matter of moments. Both sets of guards armed themselves for an eventual conflict.

"So long as you understand Fugaku. With this, I will take my leave, but be warned Fugaku. I for not one second ever forgot what you did to my family, and if you ever try and take my new family away, I'll kill you myself."

With that said, Kushina and the people with her turned their backs and headed out back to their homeland. After about ten minutes, Fugaku summoned a couple of the ANBU guards.

"I want you to find any Tanebi people still in this village and kill them. Do the same with the Suna villagers. Also, tell our scout to prepare his ambush for the Tanebi village. I want no survivors."

The ANBU bowed to Fugaku and left to do his orders.

"With all the villagers and our scout in their ranks, they should crumble quickly from the inside out. Nobody ever makes fools of the Uchiha clan Kushina and now that attitude of yours will end."

…...................

Fugaku sent out an ambush to try to catch Kushina and the Tanebi people off guard, but he didn't count on the scout revealing the attack. Melina told Kushina that an attack was coming after talking to Itachi. Because of that the ambush failed and thus a new conflict was born. That ambush ignited the flames of war to return to the shinobi world.

…....................

Thus ends the flashback arc. I didn't know how to quite end it, but I am satisfied with the way it turned out. I figured that a sudden ambush would probably be the best way to end the arc. As far as Melina, she won't be a big player. Next chapter I will go into how Sakura got in the position she's in.

The point with the scroll missing was just a link to get the thief into Konoha and sending Sasuke and his crew to confront the thieves. Can't reveal everything in the scroll now shall we?

F,W, and V is also still going on, and I will have the next chapter released in maybe a week or so.

Next Chapter: Larsa

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Please review.


	15. Sarutobi

Tanebi

Chapter 15: Sarutobi

Welcome back. My first regular update in a while, but I'm back in the swing of things. I got too many reviews for the last chapter to do answer them all in the story, but I will name them all below as a show of thanks.

Dawnyu, Sara1965, Perfectblack, IETS, Inarealpickle, dragonshaun9, Kaiser Spartan, Prague, Lexor, Miseryluvsdeath, Useful76, Darknaruto21, Catsi, Harry Foureyes, and Wind797. Thank you all for reviewing.

I'm left with a lot more space now.

Now, on to business. This chapter officially begins the Raider Arc. Once again I will make changes to chapter 1 and the chapter with the group fight to accommodate this. (I can actually paraphrase them right now, no Tayuya in either scene.)

Also, what group was Asuma in before becoming a jonin for Konoha again? I forgot.

All right, are y'all ready? Because Arc 2 is starting … wait for it … now.

................................

"I just don't get the mission." A fifteen year old blond boy whined to an 18 year old silver haired boy. "Why do we need to find Jiji anyway? I thought he said that he was through with the shinobi lifestyle for good after my father died."

"He does Naruto." The youth responded while their team ran through the forest. "Unfortunately neither Kushina-sama nor Jiraiya-sama can tell whether the scroll is real or fake. Only Sarutobi-sama can do that, thus the mission."

"I don't like how you are keeping me in the dark about this Lucien." Naruto caught up to the silver haired boy. "You, Tayuya, and Kaa-san all won't tell me what this scroll contains and why it's so important. Also, why do we need to bring our squads?" Naruto looked back to see a young girl with pale eyes running next to a boy with the same eyes and long black hair. Behind them ran a girl with short orange hair, a girl with her hair split into two buns, a boy with a pineapple haircut, and ahead of the group was a girl older than them all with three dogs.

"Listen Naruto," Lucien continued running but looked Naruto right in the eyes. "I know not much about this than you do, but trust me on this, I will tell you what I know when I have to."

"Lucien-taicho, how much longer until we reach the destination?" The girl with the orange hair called out from behind the group.

"I don't know Sasame. It all depends on how well Hana and her hounds can track the scent given to us. Regardless of how good the scent is though, we'd best stop soon. We don't have much time left before the sun sets anyway and we are fast approaching the border zone."

"Actually, we should be in luck." The boy with the pale eyes said. "We're fast approaching a town about 10 kilometers ahead, and 14 degrees clockwise. If we hurry, we can get there before dark."

"Excellent work Neji." Lucien said before turning his attention back to the head of the group. "Hana, if we rest, can your dogs still find the trail?"

"It doesn't matter, my dogs are losing the trail now. It's weird but it's like the trail is starting to vanish right before our noses." As Hana spoke, she continued sniffing at the air to try and find a trail.

"Everyone stop!." Naruto shouted. Everyone stopped running and stared at the blond.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Sasame tilted her head and looked at Naruto with a confused expression.

"I think we're walking into a genjutsu. We may even be in one as we speak."

"Why do you think that Naruto-kun?" The silver eyed girl asked from her spot.

"Sometimes villages want to just stay out of war and conflict. To do so, they set up powerful genjutsus up around the perimeter of the village so they can avoid any damage to the buildings or the people." Naruto started to say before his former teammate finished.

"And if Sarutobi-sama is truly in that village than we have no idea how strong the genjutsu barrier is." Lucien finished for the blond. Naruto nodded in agreement to Lucien's assessment. "How do you suppose we get by then?"

"How should I know? You're the captain with all the information." Naruto turned his head to the side. He was obviously still offended that he was being left out of the information loop.

"Neji, Hinata, you two can still spot the village beyond the forest correct?" Both of the Hyuuga nodded their heads. "Good. Here's the plan. Naruto, myself Neji and Hinata will head to the village. Shikamaru, I'm placing you in charge of this in mine and Naruto's absence. Use the other members of the group to set up defenses for us here until further orders from me. Also, send a message back to Kushina-sama, and tell her that we are diplomatically approaching Sarutobi-sama. Do you understand?"

"Mah troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and laid down on the grass.

Lucien reached into his pouch and pulled out a storage scroll. From inside it, he had two hopes pop out. He kept one for himself and passed the other one to Naruto. "Naruto, tie that vine to your's and Hinata's wrists. We have no idea what kind of genjutsu surrounds this town. Better safe than sorry. Neji we'll do the same."

The four spent the next few minutes tying themselves together. After some last second preparations, the Alliance shinobi raced into the unknown genjutsu field that awaited them.

"Alright, as commander of this group, I put Hana in charge of setting up camp. Sasame, you and Tenten get us some food.." Shikamaru yawned and tried to closed his eyes on the grass, but Hana wouldn't let him rest.

"And what do you plan on doing oh leader?"

"My job is to set up traps. Seeing as how I've already done that, I earned a rest." Shikamaru yawned and tried to close his eyes again.

"And where are these traps?" Hana asked while putting her hands on her hips. "I don't see them anywhere."

"That's why they're called traps. It's not a good trap if you can see it. Any other objections?" Nobody had any, but that didn't stop Hana from grumbling about stupid lazy genius shinobi.

The forest inside was pitch dark. Once they passed through the initial field, all sight and scent was taken away from Naruto. He tried to communicate everything to Hinata, but he realized that his hearing had also been taken away in the genjutsu. What made matters even more frustrating was that Hinata kept moving in odd directions and pulling Naruto all around the dark atmosphere. He reckoned that was because there were traps and possibly dead bodies all around the field. He figured it would have probably been safer if Hinata just carried him through the trapped forest. After what seemed to be three hours of total darkness, Naruto and Hinata made it out of the clearing. Just following them were Lucien and Neji with Lucien looking bruised and Neji frustrated.

"Looks like you both had fun in there huh?" Naruto nearly fell over laughing at the looks on the other two shinobi's faces. Hinata giggled as well. Naruto looked down at his clothing and was shocked to see that he looked just like the other two shinobi. Hinata was easily the best off with her superior agility, but she was still dusty.

"It was Hell in there and I was the one who could see. Venus Flytraps, dead bodies, senbon traps at every corner and all the trees. I could barely get through it and I'm a Hyuuga. Can't imagine too many people getting through there." Neji started to dust himself off.

"We're looking for the famed professor; We knew it wouldn't be easy." Lucien started dusting himself off and cut the rope tied between his and Neji's wrists. Naruto severed the tie between himself and Hinata too, and as soon as their burden was gone, Lucien and Naruto rubbed their own sore shoulders. "Quick thinking on spotting that genjutsu Naruto. Without that, the whole group may have been in serious trouble, possibly dead."

Naruto didn't verbally answer, but he did put on one of his famous grins and rubbed the back of his head with his hand.

Lucien looked up at the sky and saw that it had set. With the brightness of both the moon and the stars, they figured that it would be best to set up camp and approach the village in the morning.

"Why? I say that we should keep going and stay there for the night." Naruto pleaded. He wasn't near as tired as the others.

"That village has likely not seen an outsider in years Naruto." Neji responded. To have four show up in the middle of the night could cause a midnight panic. Besides, I have a feeling that Sarutobi knows we're here. It would be best to wait for him to come to us. That work taicho?"

Lucien didn't respond. Instead he just laid down on the grass and fell asleep.

"I think he needs the sleep more than I do. Tayuya snores." Naruto chuckled earning laughs from the rest of the group.

"Tell me about it. I could often hear her from across the forest on missions. I didn't think those noises were possible." Neji rolled his eyes with a smile.

"At least you never had to share a tent with her nee-san." Hinata put her hand in front of her face to quiet a giggle. Before the three shinobi realized it, a kunai passed under their each of their arms.

"As much as I would hate to interrupt your laughter I would like to make two points." Lucien spoke with his eyes closed, but he sounded halfway annoyed and halfway amused. "One, I'm tired and you hyenas are keeping me up. Two, I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about my wife without my input. I have horror stories that none of you even want to know. So unless you want to hear them, I would advise you to get some sleep."

"Buzz kill." Naruto laid down and tried to get to sleep only to dream about a face he hadn't seen in almost three years.

….......................

In Konoha, a pink-haired girl was nearly skipping through the village. She was excited because after three long years of teaching possible gennin, Sakura Haruno was done with her punishment. Sakura was sentenced to three years of helping to teach the konoha gennin probables. She could still train with whomever she wanted and have access to any of Konoha's libraries, but she couldn't leave the village. The best part about the whole ordeal was after the hokage announced that her probation period was over, he awarded her the rank of chunin.

Sakura didn't think what she did was such a big deal. As far as she knew, she was just meeting with a friend she met during the chunin exams. How was she supposed to know Tanebi was declared an enemy nation that night. Still, something bothered her about the whole scenario. Meeting an enemy was a possible capitol offense in the militaristic Konoha. If her meeting was really a crime that bad, her sentence would have been much worse than simple probation and a delayed chunin rank. Sakura just shrugged her shoulders about the whole thing and went back to her house to get some sleep. Tomorrow she would begin training with her new squad as the medical specialist.

After her ordeal in the hospital with Tayuya, Sakura felt that she found her true calling. Over the past three years when not teaching young children how to kill, Sakura spent most of her free time looking up old medical journals in the Konoha library. Most of the ones she read were by the legendary medic Tsunade herself.

She was also shocked to discover in other medical journals how to use medicine and pressure points to harm people. It was in then that she started to devise her own taijutsu style which would cripple enemies in only a single precise blow.

To start, Sakura looked up everything she could on the Hyuuga. Knowing her history very well, Sakura looked under every stone in Konoha to find something that the clan may have left behind. Her search every time came up empty, but every time she wanted to give up, Sakura just envisioned Naruto's face and how it would look if he knew she gave up so easily. After eight months, Sakura finally found an old manuscript of primitive Hyuuga techniques, but there was a catch. The owner of the document was suspected of belonging to the Konoha black market. The owner took her every ryo she had, but Sakura was able to buy the scroll from the slumlord.

Sakura tried everything she could to come up with a style, but it was missing something she couldn't explain. Wondering what the problem was, Sakura asked her own sensei for some advice. Kurenai wanted to help Sakura, but her specialty was genjutsu and not ancient taijutsu. She did advise her to see Ino's sensei for advice. The meeting did wonders and now every time Gai was in the village, he would give Sakura a new piece of advice for her new style.

It was the next year when Sakura put everything together. Her style gained much more form and fluidity and her knowledge of medical texts gave her a good basis for poisons. Even though she didn't like using poisons, it gave her a lot of practice in creating antidotes as well as new ways to bye time for her to heal fallen comrades on the battlefield. Sakura couldn't wait to get started on the road to being the kunoichi she always wanted to be, but there was still one large problem.

Sakura still couldn't answer the one question Kurenai asked her the morning of her probation. Could she kill Naruto if given the order? The fact that she didn't have an answer scared her a lot.

…........................

Morning came quickly for the slumbering shinobi on the other side of the genjutsu. Naruto was the first to awake because he sensed something. One of the clones he had guard the camp poofed away which meant that someone was approaching them. Reaching into his pouch, Naruto threw a pebble at all of the shinobi waking them up. It was a sign used by all Tanebi shinobi, if they feel that an attack is imminent, they should throw a pebble at all the other shinobi as an alarm.

All Hinata, Neji, and Lucien sprung up from their slumbering and each got in their own fighting positions. After a few moments of silence, a lone figure dropped from the trees. The figure wore a hood over his head and had his face completely covered.

"We are only messengers." Lucien said as he put his hands in the air. "We come diplomatically to speak with Sarutobi-sama on an urgent matter." Naruto took the hint and put his arms in the air as well, and Neji and Hinata soon followed them.

"So, it seems that Tanebi shinobi know their manners," the shrouded figure said. "That's good." The figure removed his hood to reveal the former hokage Sarutobi right in front of the shinobi. The shinobi were stunned to see their target greet them so soon.

"At first I was surprised to find out that someone has passed through my barrier, but then I saw that you had two members of the Hyuuga clan with you and it all made sense. Naruto, it's good to see you again. You are a spitting image of your father you know."

"It's good to see that you're doing well too jiji. I haven't seen you since I was just a young child."

"You're still a young child Naruto." Sarutobi laughed. "Now that the pleasantries are over with, why did the eight of you seek me out? If it has anything to do with me entering the war, my answer is still no and I would kindly ask you all to leave here and not disturb my villagers."

"No Sarutobi-sama. There is something different we would like to discuss." Lucien stepped forward in front of Naruto and the two Hyuugas; "I'd like to talk to you about Sakura Haruno."

Every person in the forest clearing froze. Neji and Hinata only sort of remembered Sakura as just the pink haired girl who hurt Tayuya. For Naruto though, the surprise entered a whole new level. He hadn't heard the name in years, but the face of the girl still entered his mind every time he blinked.

Sarutobi took a step backward. "What do you know about that horrible project?" Sarutobi spoke much softer, but his tone was now venomous.

"To be honest, very little. Although I'm sure that Kushina-sama has some suspicions."

"In that case, I decline, and you completely wasted your time. Please just leave and don't pursue that cursed project ever." Sarutobi turned to walk away, but Lucien interrupted the exit.

"I think it's time I explained our mission. Please Sarutobi-sama, grant me ten minutes to explain our purpose." Sarutobi didn't move for a few seconds before turning back around to face the group of shinobi. As soon as the elderly man was facing the Tanebi shinobi completely, Lucien explained the mission.

"About three years ago, Kushina-sama won a bet with Fugaku Uchiha. As a result of that bet, she obtained what she assumed to be the complete medical history of Sakura Haruno, a gennin competing in the chunin exams with a unique power."

Sarutobi paused and thought carefully before asking the next question. He really didn't want to know the answer, but it was a question he had to ask. "Could you describe these powers?"

"It was in a fight against my sister." Naruto stepped forward. "Tayuya had Sakura-chan completely dominated when she changed. It was like she got a huge boost in both power and speed, as well as an arsenal of impressive jutsu. But the strangest part was that I swear that I saw the word inner appear on her forehead."

"That's … impossible." Sarutobi's face was blank and completely pale, as if the shinigami had appeared right in front of his face.

"But it happened, and that piqued Kushina-sama's curiosity." Lucien reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll. "One of the items that we got was this, _The Sakura Haruno Project_, but we don't know if it's the real thing or not. As far as we know, only the Hokages and their very trusted subjects have beheld it. We need you to see if in fact we do have the complete scroll for the project."

"And what do you plan to do with it if it is in fact real? Do you and the rest of Tanebi plan on continuing that project? Do you plan on mass producing them and slaughtering hundreds of orphans!?" Sarutobi's voice got louder with each question.

"NO!" Naruto yelled. "If something like that happens I'll … I'll … I'll take up arms with my own mother to prevent that from happening!" Neji and Hinata both widened their eyes as Lucien looked unfazed, as if this type of behavior happened often.

"Look, let's not get all carried away." Neji walked out and spoke for the first time in the meeting. "The fact remains that we still have no idea whether or not the scroll we have is real or fake. If it's real, than there's nothing that we can do about it. We would already have the information, but if it's a fake ..."

"There's no telling what the Hokage could do with it." Hinata gasped.

"Regardless, there's still a lot that we don't know. Sarutobi-sama, could you please enlighten us as to whether the scroll we have is real or fake." Lucien walked up to Sarutobi and went down to one knee and presented the scroll to the aged former Hokage. Sarutobi slowly reached out his hand, picked it up and examined it thoroughly.

At first he just looked at the outside edge, making sure that everything about the scroll was right. After looking at that, he took a close look at the edges of the scroll and unfurled it. As soon as he opened it he had his answer.

"It's fake. This is only the preface and a small bit of the beginning of the research."

The group paused. With the way Sarutobi reacted upon hearing what they were after, the shinobi were not surprised at all.

"So, what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"We need to follow our backup orders then. Sneak into Konoha and take the original for ourselves." What shocked the group was that Lucien spoke as if the mission was not a big deal.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Neji spoke up. "I mean Konoha isn't exactly going to just let us waltz right into the Hokage tower and say 'excuse me, but you have something that belongs to us. Can we have it?"

"It wouldn't be in the Hokage tower. Something that important would be held at the ANBU Experimental Facility." Sarutobi interrupted.

"That makes no sense?" Naruto interrupted. "Why at the ANBU Experimental Facility? Would the tower be the safest place?"

"The Hokage tower is no place to tamper with possible genetic experimentation The facility in question is very secretive and only ANBU, the Hokage, or the higher up guards in Fire Country know exactly where it is."

"That settles it. We head to Konoha!" Naruto yelled before Lucien put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Calm down for a second. We have no idea where the place is."

"It's not in Konoha the village itself." Sarutobi rubbed his beard as if trying to remember the specific location. "Rather, it's just outside the village, hidden literally in the leaves. Don't worry though, if you give me only a few minutes, I can find you eight a guide."

"That works out nicely. It would also be nice to fill the rest of our team in with what transpired, but I really don't want to go through that genjutsu again." Lucien added. Sarutobi chuckled and pulled something out of the cloak he had on. It looked like four sutras.

"Here." He tossed one to each member of the group. "If you are in possession of these, you will get through the field unaffected." The Tanebi shinobi each grabbed one and headed back into the forest. Sarutobi stayed in the clearing for a few more moments. "Naruto, I hope you can do what I and your father were too foolish to do and end this mess once and for all."

"So Naruto, what do you think?" Lucien asked as the squad moved through the forest.

"I don't know. I mean I still no nothing about this project at all other than somehow or another Sakura-chan is a part of it. Jiji really didn't clarify anything."

"No he didn't" Neji said. "But based on the way he reacted, we can only assume that something horrible happened. And I am worried about how he used the phrase genetic mutation."

"Me too nee-san, but I am worried for a different reason. Do you think that Sakura knows about this project?" Hinata scrunched up her face in worry.

"No, she was extremely worried about what happened in her fight against Tayuya. I know she didn't know about it." Naruto added.

"Besides, if she knew than there's always a chance that she think less of the village if what's inside it is bad enough. Keep in mind that we could are likely dealing with genetic mutation." Lucien continued. "As a result, her faith in the Hokage would diminish and ultimately betrayal would be imminent if she was experimented on."

"But that really doesn't sense. After all, Sakura-chan is younger than I am and the jiji left the village when I was born." Naruto turned his look from quizzical to suspicious at Lucien. "How much do you know? Or rather, what do you know and aren't telling us."

Lucien stayed silent. It seemed for him like there was only one way to answer this and that was to come clean. "I only know a bit more than you. All I know is that we have the fake scroll but I never saw what was inside. I only hypothesize that there is something horrible going on at that facility and it is somehow related to Sakura. Do you see now why I was hesitant on sharing this information?"

"I understand what your thought process was, but I don't like it. I feel that you should have more trust in me than that and know that I'll make the right decision."

"This is war Naruto. We can't afford to make the right decision all the time. Sometimes we need to sacrifice our ideals in order to do what's best for our country."

"Kinda hypocritical for you to say that huh?" Naruto smiled widely. "Considering what you and my sister did."

"I really can't argue with that can I?" Lucien gave back a smile, or for the silver haired boy that would qualify for a smile. Neji and Hinata had a good idea of what they were talking about but weren't really filled in on the details. Anything involving Naruto or Tayuya were always hit gossip in Tanebi. "Although, maybe I could fill you in on the other half of our mission, but I think what I have in mind is more … fun."

The rest of the run though the woods was pretty much silent as Naruto kept pondering the words of his former teammate. It wasn't often that he used the word fun but when he did it was either some kind of trick to pull on an enemy, playing shogi with Shikamaru, or something that would shock everyone. As was the case the last time he used it three weeks ago.

When they got to the camp, Lucien and Naruto filled the entire group in on what happened with Sarutobi and what their next target was. Everyone was a bit puzzled as to what was going on, but one member of the group seemed conflicted. Hana had always been close to Sakura and if Konoha performed some kind of genetic modification on her, it would take a million of Naruto's kage bunshin to hold her back. After the group did some small discussion on their next move, a large man appeared in the clearing. He had a cigarette in his mouth and spiked black hair.

"So you're the group that met my old man huh?" He looked everyone of them up and down and stopped when he saw Naruto. He chuckled when he eyed Naruto. "You look just like your old man yourself. Bet you got yourself a girlfriend huh? Maybe 2?"

"Just who are you anyway?" Naruto was already getting impatient and Hana was about dying from the smell of tobacco coming from the man.

"Asuma is fine. I'm the old geezers son and among other things a person very high up in guarding Fire Country. As such, I know everything about that place and what they do there." Asuma turned his head to the ground. "But we couldn't do anything because we had no proof. I'd much rather destroy that place, but taking their primary research tool would be good too."

"Asuma-san, what kind of things did they do there?" Hinata asked while twiddling her index fingers.

"It's horrible. I think I'd rather take you inside to show you though, but with security, it would be impossible to take any of you inside."

"I beg to differ." Lucien said. "With Naruto's bloodline, he can perfectly take the image of any person perfectly. Plus, if you were to … say aid in the capture of an entire Tanebi raid squad and wish to … say capture their leader, a Sentinel who so happened to have a bloodline that allows him to travel through walls and wish to experiment on him to figure out how to make more."

Asuma paused. He could find very little wrong with the plan thought up by Lucien. He was actually amazed at how such a young man could formulate such a good plan in a matter of moments.

"Shikamaru, any objections?" Lucien turned to the Nara genius.

"Only a few. For one, we are traveling across the Konoha border. It would seem suspicious if we traveled into Konoha territory with two Hyuuga. Two, there are eight of us. Not even one of the fire guard would be able to handle two Tanebi raid squads. Thirdly, How is Asuma supposed to gain the trust of Konoha to make it seem as if he's not a spy? It would seem odd if he appeared out of nowhere like that considering that his father and Fugaku had a large falling out. And lastly, with your plan we don't have a large window of time to deal with. They will likely find us before we can escape." Shikamaru said all that in an even tone with his eyes closed.

"Good assessment as always. Let's start with the top. Hinata, Neji, I want you both to stay here and await any orders from me. If you don't get them in ten days … tell Tayuya I'm sorry." Lucien closed his eyes and averted his head for a moment before continuing. "Keep in mind that although Hana was declared dead, we could always lie and tell them that she accompanied us. With a disguised Naruto it will look like a well executed trap and that we were caught."

"As far as your third and fourth point … uh ..." Asuma fumbled for a name.

"Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru. I used to have a reputation for saying some bad things about my father which was why I left the village but stayed in fire country. Even when I left the guard, I still had that resentment. Officially I was reported as MIA so a return to the side that spurned my father would actually seem plausible." Regret lingered in every word Asuma spoke.

"Any other objections?" Lucien looked to Shikamaru.

"None now, but we can never be sure until we see the layout of the facility. There are still a lot of unknowns and unknowns are just troublesome."

"Indeed they are. Let's move." And with that the group of seven took off, but none of them would be prepared with what faced them in Konoha's hidden facility.

….............

I do have an Omake for this chapter but I don't know if I want to put it in for now. If anyone wants to read it, I'll put it in my profile.

I had no intention of starting here, but it seemed right. You see a little bit of what Tanebi is planning and the chapter I started with is starting to take shape. Obviously next chapter will involve the actual taking of the scroll, and maybe even the first part of Sakura's mission where she gets captured. Three chapters from now, I'm thinking should take us up to some present information.

A bit more of the mystery with Sakura is cleared up, but I think I still left plenty of questions as to what's actually going on. I'll fill in another piece of the puzzle next time.

That's about it for now.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter, Shocking Facility

Please review.


	16. Facility

Tanebi

Chapter 16: Facility

This is not something I normally do, but I am publishing this chapter before the new F, W, V chapter. I did that because this chapter is a key part of the story and I need to strike now. Expect the next chapter to be up in about a week or so.

As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate anyone who critiques my work either positively or negatively.

This chapter is very key to the plot progression of the story. As such, it has gone under intensive review so I hope you all like it.

…..

"Is it just me, or was getting through that gate way too easy?" Sasame said. The team was now running in Konoha territory with Hana and Asuma up front, Shikamaru behind them, Naruto and Lucien behind him, and Tenten and Sasame took the rear.

"It's war time. Konoha can't afford to keep its best soldiers just patrolling some gate." Lucien answered. "I'm guessing that those shinobi couldn't have been much better than gennin."

"Also, with our raiding units, Konoha has to have some of their best guards on alert at all times. It makes things a lot less troublesome that way." Shikamaru added.

The trip through the gates into Konoha went easily. Asuma, Naruto, and Hana all executed their roles perfectly, and the guards let the shinobi through. Naruto though had himself disguised as a simple Konoha jonin would, leaf forehead protector, and a green jonin vest which Naruto still wondered where his teammate got it from. Now they raced towards the hidden facility mentioned by Asuma.

"Asuma-san, what exactly is there at this place?" Naruto asked. He was getting increasingly nervous about this whole trip, but still he wanted to know exactly what was going on with the pink haired girl who was never far away from his thoughts.

"Not much, but I will fill you in. That facility was built during the era of the second hokage as a research facility for seals and weapons for the village to use. Shortly thereafter though, the facility underwent a tragic explosion from an assumed tag and was left abandoned for a long time. Sometime during my father's tenure, Orochimaru found the facility abandoned and started up some other project of his own. We have no proof, but we think that he was responsible for at least 500 deaths."

The entire group gasped. They had no idea that the place they were going to would be such a large breeding ground for death and chaos. It gave a lingering and worried feeling to the rest of the group, but they knew that they needed to progress. Naruto cast a worried glance over at his brother-in-law. Naruto could tell that Lucien was extremely worried about something, and that in itself worried him. Lucien was the type of person who did his best to remain calm at all times and act logically. Nearly nothing seemed to effect him emotionally that didn't have the word Tayuya connected to it.

Lucien turned his head and caught Naruto's glance. He began to wonder if his concerns about the mission, or rather Naruto's emotional state are transparent. Looking around the group, nobody else seemed to catch his conflicted mind, but only Shikamaru seemed to pick it up. Lucien let out a sigh of relief knowing that Naruto wouldn't tell anyone about his plan and Shikamaru would know that telling the group that the leader is having doubts of any kind would put the mission in jeopardy.

If my theory is correct, Naruto's emotional state could complicate this mission. He thinks his feelings for that girl are private, but I can see right through him. It would be best to send him back to the village when we through getting the data. Wouldn't want his emotional state to get involved when we capture Sakura for real as per my instructions.

After another day of silent travel, the group finally made it to a clearing three kilometers away from the base in question. Lucien decided that it would be best for the group if they stayed the night in that clearing and made their preparations. That distance away from the base would be far enough for them to avoid detection while still giving them a short distance to get to the facility. The following night they would undergo their mission. Time passed by slowly as the group got everything in order. Right now they were making their final preparations.

"As soon as we get inside, we'll get ourselves caught." Lucien said as the group gathered around in the dusk. Naturally, the group was alarmed at this plan.

"Hold on, we'll sneak in just to be caught? How does that make sense?" Sasame asked. Lucien had an answer ready in less than a second.

"It's all according to the plan. In that time, I'll make my escape from the group and Naruto will chase me ready to kill me. We need to make it seem like we tricked Naruto and he will want my head. Asuma-san, in the meantime you will get chased by the security of the facility. They are all ANBU here so it won't be easy to get them off your trail, but with you, Hana, Shikamaru, Sasame, and Tenten you should all be able to get out unblemished. Especially considering that the guards here haven't likely been in a real fight in months. Meanwhile, Naruto and I will search for the information alone."

"Why only you two?" Hana asked. She wanted to be a larger part of the mission than a simple distraction.

"They both have special skill that will allow them to go anywhere they want in the facility. Plus, aside from possibly Asuma-sama, those two are the strongest." Shikamaru interrupted. He helped Lucien devise the plan that they were currently using to ensure that there were as few flaws as possible.

"Right. Asuma-sama, after exactly 30 minutes, I want you to escape the facility making it seem like a botched mission. In that time, Naruto or I should have found what we are looking for. If not, they would still likely still be after Asuma-san. Head back here, and wait for further instructions. If by this point you can't shake them, don't wait for me and just head to the predesigned meeting point where Neji and Hinata are waiting. Any questions?"

Lucien looked around the group searching for any signs of doubt or questioning looks. After seeing that they all understood their purpose in the mission, Lucien started the groups final preparations. Naruto remained in his jonin form and tied a strong chain both of Lucien's arms and legs. Sasame also painted some fake blood over Lucien's mask and clothing while Tenten cut small tears in his clothing. The point was to make Lucien seem as roughed up as possible. Of course, the rest of the group outside of Naruto, Asuma, and Hana were put in similar positions, but they made is seem apparent that Lucien was the most wounded. After all the makeup and props were all in place, Lucien's group prepared for their performance.

The group walked up to the facility with Naruto, Asuma, and Hana leading the way. As they approached the gates to the facility, two Konoha ANBU approached them. One wore the mask of a dingo and the other wore the mask of a hawk.

"Stop it right there." Hawk held out his hand to attempt to stop the group. Everyone in the group stopped on command and let Hawk speak. "Out with it. Who are you, what are you doing here, and how do you know about this place?" Hawk impatiently waited for the group to respond.

Asuma stepped forward in front of the rest of the group to speak for them. "My name is Sarutobi Asuma, former member of the twelve guards of the Fire Daimyo himself." The two ANBU took a step backwards. They of course had heard the name before.

"And my name is Inuzuka Hana." This time Hana and her dogs stepped in front to the same level as Asuma. "Kunoichi thought to be dead only to be sent out on a mission by the Hokage to find Asuma."

"I'm Arcriff Trowa. A jonin of Konoha whose unit was decimated by these Tanebi savages." Naruto turned to the chained Lucien and sneared at him. Lucien spat in Naruto's face. Naruto didn't like that too much, so he punched Lucien across the face, knocking him down to the ground. He was about to charge when Asuma intercepted him.

"Look, I know you want this bastard dead, but we have a mission to complete." Naruto took another glance at Lucien on the ground and turned back to Hawk. Asuma again took the lead of the group.

"Hana and I found these guys raiding Trowa's supply unit. By the time we got there, the remainder of Trowa's unit had been slaughtered, but we were at least able to catch his entire unit hostage. Upon their capture, Trowa wanted them all dead, but then I mentioned this facility and told him that they could use his body for research."

Hawk went up to each of the shinobi and looked them up and down. He walked around each shinobi in a circle to try and get a good look at each of them while making some small grunts.

"There is nothing special about any of them. No special traits or anything. You wasted your time and would be better off just killing the lot of them than to bring them here."

"I wouldn't be so hasty on your judgment." Asuma waved him off with his hand. "You see that silver haired one?" Hawk nodded his head, wondering what this had to do with anything. "His name is Lucien, a sentinel and one of the main raiders Tanebi has. He has a special ability that allows him to phase through almost any type of material. We also have in this group a Fuuma and a Nara. Wouldn't they make for great testing subjects?"

Hawk stayed silent. He didn't know too much about what was going on at the facility, but he knew that the addition of three new specimens could only further their research. Dingo however was more certain.

"Asuma-sama, we appreciate that you have brought three new projects for our scientists, but we have orders from the Hokage to not let anyone into this facility. I'm sorry, but I must ask you to turn away."

"It's a shame." Asuma sighed and put his hand on his forehead. "Here I was thinking that the Hokage would greatly appreciate the new project. I'm also sure that he would understand if you were to bend the rules for the sake of the village. Just think about how grateful Fugaku-sama would be if you brought in strong experiment for him. You wouldn't be on guard duty in the middle of nowhere would you?"

Hawk turned his back and started talking to Dingo. It seemed to be that they were very enticed with what Asuma was offering, but Dingo still looked to have a few doubts. After discussing the matter for about three minutes, Hawk again approached the group.

"Very well. We will let your group in, but unfortunately, you Hana, and Trowa will only be allowed to see the first floor of the facility. Your captives will be taken to the basement where they will be experimented on.

Dingo didn't seem too happy about the scenario, but still went along with what Hawk wanted to do. He hated being on guard duty and even the thought of getting off it would be enough for him to disobey orders just this one time. The two of them walked up to the door of the facility and took out a set of keys that they both had and unlocked the door to the facility.

The group walked into the lab and it wasn't what they expected. They expected to see a bunch of guys in white lab coats and experiments all over the place. Instead the place that they saw was similar to a barracks seen in many of Tanebi's bases.

"Yes not much to look at for sure. But still it's what we call home. The real experiments are held in the basement levels below. I don't know ..." Hawk's speech was interrupted when Lucien phased right through his chains and began to run away. Naruto, in a frenzied rage ran after him. Hawk started to go after him, but Asuma and Hana got in front of him.

"Now now, just let Trowa handle this. You have your own problem to take care of." Hana showed her fangs to Hawk. Dingo turned around to see Sasame get out of her chains and wrap him up in some strange kind of wire.

"You traitor!" Hawk yelled. Looking around, he could see that the group had him completely surrounded. Hawk bolted to Tenten's side and hit the alarm button causing a loud beeping sound to echo throughout the lab. "Now they all know you're here and the doors are sealed. You have no chance of getting out." Hawk was about to go on, but he was interrupted by a barrage of kunai in his back. Meanwhile, ANBU guards ran around frantically. They had certainly not expected to be attacked at this time of night.

"You know the plan." Shikamaru turned to face the group. We need to give him thirty minutes. We can't stay here all that time, so let's get moving. Hana, Asuma-sama I want you two to put that uniform on. As we kill more ANBU we'll steal their clothes and switch masks. That should buy us the time that we need to have the him get the information that we want. The squad took off to possibly buy some more time.

Naruto frantically chased Lucien through the barracks. Up to this point, Lucien had attracted his fair share of Konoha ANBU, but using his power, he was able to elude them. Naruto stayed close to him by using all of his destructive power and ninjutsu to just blast holes through the walls that Lucien fazed through. The chase took them all the way through the barracks and down to the stairwell to get to the next subfloor.

As Lucien entered the first floor of the basement, he was cornered by a Konoha ANBU. The ANBU tried to run Lucien through with the kunai, Lucien fazed through it and ran right into the awaiting kunai of Naruto.

"Nice work." Lucien smirked over to his comrade. He walked over to the ANBU and put his mask over his face and quickly put the ANBU's larger clothes on over his own. Naruto also shifted his form into the Dingo ANBU they saw earlier. Sensing ANBU on their tail, Naruto burned the dead ANBU's body to hide any evidence.

"What's going on?" Two ANBU yelled at the now disguised Naruto and Lucien.

"I don't know." Lucien answered. "Two guys just passed through here. One was one of us but I don't recognize the other.

"Why didn't you go after them? They're both sneaking into here!" One of the ANBU was seething at the idiocy of the ANBU.

"We were ordered to specifically guard this sector, not chase down runaways. What's going on?" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest.

The ANBU took a couple of minutes to briefly go through the situation with Naruto. "I think they went that way." Naruto pointed over to his left and Lucien started to run that direction but the other two ANBU didn't even move.

"Hold it. Take off your masks both of you." The two ANBU had kunai already drawn. They were suspicious of their two look a likes already. Naruto started to move his hand up to his mask, but a look from his teammate stopped his movement. Naruto knew that look in Lucien's eyes and it meant to not do anything until he talks.

"You both know as well as I do that it is not allowed for ANBU to remove their masks in an emergency scenario. With the alarm off and two intruders in the base, that qualifies as an emergency scenario, so you see doing what you request is not permissible." The two ANBU looked at each other and slowly put their kunai away. "Furthermore, if you didn't know such a simple ANBU rule, then perhaps it is _you _who are the intruders." Lucien pointed a suspecting finger at the two ANBU who quickly shook their heads and pleaded their case. "Then what are you idiots doing!? Get your asses in gear and find the intruders!"

The two ANBU saluted Lucien and ran off to find the two intruders. After they departed, Lucien and Naruto quickly bolted to the second floor. Naruto also made ten kage-bunshin and had five of them take Lucien's appearance at Lucien's command. Naruto was again amazed at his friend's quick wit. Not because Lucien seemed to know an ANBU rule, but just he could always remain calm during any crisis.

"I guessed. Konoha ANBU are not stupid. If an enemy shinobi is present, than it could be hazardous for a shinobi to remove his mask. Insult a ninja's loyalty and you play them like fiddles. Now, any idea where the stairway to get to the next floor is?"

Naruto took out two of his kage-bunshin sets to see if they found a way down. "There is, but it's swarmed by ANBU. They found our copies go down there and blocked it off. How do you know that this isn't the place where what we're looking for is? I mean there seems to be hundreds of experiments going on."

Lucien stopped for a moment. Naruto wondered why he would just stop like that, and wanted to know why he did.

"Something is wrong. This is just … too easy. I think we're walking into a trap."

This through Naruto for a loop. Lucien was one to think things through carefully, so if he thought they were walking into a trap they were. But what Naruto wondered was how he knew.

"Think about it. Konoha is doing questionable research here. But although it's Konoha territory, Konoha itself is under the eye of Fire Country. If they are doing something against Fire Country laws, they would need to keep it hidden to prevent the higher ups from finding it. My guess is that they have a different lab entrance hidden somewhere, but where?

"I think I know. Come with me." Naruto turned around and ran back the way they came from. Lucien had no choice but to follow. He followed Naruto all the way back to the stairway that they came down on. By this time, that stairway had no ANBU anywhere near it because the ANBU supposedly had Lucien trapped on the floor below. Naruto walked back into the stairwell and put his ear down to the floor and knocked on it. His eyes widened when he heard what he wanted to hear. "It echoes. And if it echoes ..."

"There's another stairwell below it." Naruto was prepared to blow the floor up with his Rasengan, but Lucien grabbed his wrist.

"Our object is to _not _draw attention to ourselves. This way is much faster." Lucien fazed through the floor and took Naruto with him. The two fell down for a short distance, but gracefully landed on their feet.

"Uh thanks." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his hand, and grinned sheepishly. For a moment, he forgot that Lucien was capable of phasing through an object with another person in tow.

Lucien bent down to one knee to catch his breath and Naruto knelt down to help him up. Lucien, while being a bit smarter, was nowhere near the stamana freak that Naruto was. For Naruto, all this sprinting was nothing more than a simple walk in the park. Naruto saw a bruise start to appear on Lucien's face from when Naruto slugged him earlier.

"You deserve that you know?" Naruto pointed at the bruise. It startled the other boy at first because Naruto had for the most part been giving him the silent treatment. Lucien reached up to where Naruto pointed and rubbed the bruise a little bit.

"So tell me, was that punch because I spit in your face, or because I left you out of most of the mission details?" Lucien tilted his head up to look at Naruto and looked at him with a blank expression.

"Which one do _you_ think? Either way, it's not like it killed you or anything." Naruto put his other hand behind his head and grinned even wider. "Of course, if I _really_ wanted to get back at you, I could always ask my sister to think up something. She may be still mad about you know what."

Lucien wasn't one to get scared easily. In fact, only his wife could elicit such an emotion from him, but after those words from Naruto, he paled. At this point, Naruto had his fangs showing which reminded was Naruto's trademark of mischief. He wondered if perhaps it was exposure to the fox that gave Naruto his thrill of mischief at times.

The two boys walked forward into the next room, and it had a completely different feel than the others. This next area was very wide and had a lot of empty space. The above floors had corridors, but this room was just one big room. On each side of the room, Naruto and Lucien spotted several large tubes filled with water, and inside the water, it looked as if an infant was breathing out of a tube.

"Woah." Naruto walked further into the room. "This place just screams out evil doesn't it?"

Lucien remained silent and walked up to one of the containers. He put his hand on the glass and rapped it with his other knuckles. The girl in the tube looked to be in a coma, on the verge of death. He then turned his attention to a small pile of notes on a desk next to the person. It looked like some kind of design for some kind of seal, but Lucien didn't recognize it. He waved his blond teammate over to where Lucien now was. "Naruto, do you know what this is?"

Naruto took the notes from Lucien and looked them over for about a minute. "It looks a bit like my seal in design. A basic 4-star seal, but it's been modified. But why?" Naruto looked at the small girl in the tube and saw that she had the same exact seal design on her navel, but it didn't look good, and that worried Naruto. Quickly, he formed a Rasengan in his hand and smashed the tube into pieces and took the girl out. Naruto gently placed the girl on the ground and examined her navel. After a few quick motions, Naruto removed the seal, but it was in vain as she died moments after it happened.

"As I was worried." Naruto looked at Lucien somberly. "That seal had been placed on her at birth. Removing it from her would kill her, but the seal was quickly killing her anyway. I doubt that she would have lasted more than a couple of hours tops."

Lucien placed his hand on his friend's shoulders. He wasn't good at this kind of thing, but he figured he would need to give it a go. "Think about it this way. Now she can go in much less pain."

Naruto wiped his eyes with his sleeve and took another look around the facility. "Do you think that all these infants have seals on them too?"

"It'd be a safe bet. My question is, what are they doing with these kids?" Lucien removed his hand from Naruto's shoulders and started to walk around the facility. He walked up to another capsule and would examine the state of the infant and would also pick up the research notes from the desk to the side.

Naruto started to do the same thing that his friend was doing. Only, Naruto would pay less attention to the infants and more attention to the notes. He couldn't bear to look at another dying child. In examining all the seals he noticed that they were all slightly different. All were 4-star seals, but the modifications were much different. Another resemblance is that they all looked like a primitive version of his own seal. After examining the lab area for about thirty minutes, Naruto met back up with Lucien.

"Naruto, did you notice anything odd about these kids?" Naruto turned his head over to the side. Obviously the girl's death still weighed on his mind. Naruto didn't like killing, but he would do it to protect his homeland. But even then those were ninja and these were mere infants. He could only imagine what Naruto was going through. "They all have pink hair. Boys, girls, it doesn't matter. Doesn't that strike you as strange?"

"Pink? That is weird. In fact, in all the people we've met only one other ..." Naruto trailed off as Sakura's face came into his mind. He then started to imagine Sakura as a frail and helpless infant inside one of those capsules. Quickly, his eyes became red and he ran after one of the tubes. Lucien was fast however and was able to grab Naruto by the shoulders and quickly turn him around.

Lucien's calculating gaze pierced into Naruto's red eyes. He calmly started to speak and try and talk his friend down. "If this is about Sakura, don't get angry. We have a mission to accomplish, and anything we turn up here could help her. Calm down." Naruto's eyes were still red, but after a few moments they started to get back to their natural blue hughs. Now he was really puzzled about what Lucien had to say.

"What do you mean help Sakura? And don't you _dare_ lie to me!"

Lucien sighed. He didn't want to reveal the final part of his mission, but with the state Naruto was currently in, he had no choice in the matter. "If I tell you, do you promise that you will keep a level head about this and not get angry?" Naruto waited for a second and nodded his head letting his friend continue. "After we get anything we can, our mission is to liberate Sakura from her current disposition."

Naruto was no fool. He could tell when Lucien was trying to tone things down and this was one such case. "So, you're going to kidnap her." Naruto's voice was even and that scared the silver-haired shinobi.

"If I felt that the situation was bad enough, yes. Look around, how bad do you think the situation is?" Looking at the notes he could tell that this looked to be horrible. Naruto was at an impasse. He wanted to unravel this mystery and find out what exactly is going on with Sakura, but at the same time, he really didn't want to know.

"We need to split up again. There's got to be some kind of secret vault or master scroll around here somewhere that will tell us all we need to know. Are you going to be okay?" This time when he asked, Lucien seemed to be genuinely concerned for Naruto. He contemplated sending Naruto back at this point, but with all the guards, that wouldn't be a good option. Not that Naruto couldn't take care of himself, but they needed to find their information fast and Lucien couldn't find it alone.

As they split up, Naruto took a closer look at some of the desks next to the capsules. Specifically, he was wondering if there maybe was a clue as to where the master scroll was. He enlisted the help of a large group of kage-bunshin to investigate every desk in order to cover even more ground.

Meanwhile, the real Naruto went to another desk. This desk was on the side Naruto investigated, but this time Naruto took an even closer look. He thought that he spotted something else in the pile at the bottom. Shifting through the bottom, Naruto spotted a scroll that had a seal over it. That, Naruto found to be suspicious. None of the other piles had seals covering them. It seemed to be a somewhat complicated seal for an intermediate seal user, but Naruto was much better than an intermediate.

Naruto made short work of the seal and opened it. The scroll was a storage scroll. Wondering what it contained, Naruto reached inside and only pulled out one fairly large scroll. After a brief glance, Naruto knew it was what the team was looking for. He wanted to call Lucien over, but Naruto decided that he had been left out of the loop for too long and wanted to see for himself how this related to Sakura.

_My name is Orochimaru. My quest, immortality and the pursuit of the perfect body. In order to attain it, I have studied the scrolls of the founders of Konoha. All three of them. The Uchiha clan under Madara Uchiha, the Senju clan, and the kunoichi Sakura. If I can find some way to take all three of their powers and transfer my soul into that host, I will have the ultimate power._

_It has been well documented that the Senju and the Uchiha were clan rivals. Their rivalry in Fire Country was one of the biggest and most brutal in the history of clan politics. The Uchiha possessed a bloodline capable of copying any ninjutsu, and reading the movements of taijutsu. The Senju, they themselves had no real power but their leader had complete power over the element of wood. Those two powers waged a war into the depths of fire country, but after years of research, a new piece entered the picture. A kunoichi named Sakura. At first, I merely thought of the woman as a myth. But after my research, I discovered that she actually existed. __She was said to possess both beauty and power in equal measure._

_Sakura was angry with both clans. According to ancient scrolls, an Uchiha and Senju once fought very violently in a village. Their battle nearly burned down half of the village, which caused the death of several of Sakura's clansmen. In her rage, she declared war against both clans. The conflict lasted for over a year with each clan taking severe losses. Finally, Sakura, having lost nearly half of her clan decided that the war must be stopped. She proposed an Alliance with the Senju. On her end she offered herself to the leader of the Senju Clan, Harashima Senju in a political marrage. Weeks later, the Uchiha were offered another deal to join in the new village, and they accepted. This new village, formed from the lands of the Uchiha, Senju, and Sakura's lands eventually became what we now know as Konoha._

As Naruto continued to read, he became both interested in how Konoha was formed, but at the same time, he wondered just where Orochimaru was going with this. He was of course familiar with the man who kidnapped his sister and never forgave him. Naruto read on about how Sakura and the Senju's marrige went, and was surprised to find out that Sakura was assassinated by the jealous Madara. Madara was cast out of the village, but the current Hokage wasn't satisfied with that and wanted Madara's death leading to their battle.

_Sakura's body was brought back to Konoha and given a proper burial. She was allegedly buried next to the first hokage as per his request. The only problem is that there is no tombstone next to the first's plot. I wanted to see what made her so powerful, so I dug up her corpse. I did the same for the First Hokage while I was there. Taking them back here where I have hidden everything from Sarutobi-sensei. _

_Now that I had actual genetic material, I could begin. I isolated the kekki-genkai genes in both the First Hokage and his wife Sakura. Now all I need to do is find a host body for them. I raided the nearby villages for orphans and took them here. I found 176 total orphans. I decided to take half of them and implant them with the First's material and the other half would get Sakura's. The results were not favorable._

_Only one of the patients survived and got results. All the rest died. However, just getting one result won't do well for my new body. I need to get some results from Sakura and quickly. I fear that someone may find out about my research soon._

Naruto was horrified at what would continue. Detailed records of over a thousand children were turned up and all of them died trying to carry Sakura's genes. Naruto was relieved when he reached the end of Orochimaru's section. Apparently, one of Orochimaru's assistants Anko ratted the facility out and Orochimaru fled Konoha. The next entry, was from a person Naruto did not expect to be in this collection. His own father.

_My name is Minato Namekaze. I found this facility and all notes shortly after I took office. It was a routine investigation of one of our ANBU facilities, when a hidden passage turned up and a disheveled lab turned up. I was horrified to see what one of our own ninja did, but I still thought that some of the information may come up as useful, and it has. One of my aids Yori is pregnant, but having complications. It seems that the fetus just isn't strong enough to survive the pregnancy. After discovering what has gone down here, there may be a way to turn this evil research to good.._

Naruto read on as reports of his father trying to create a new seal to place on the fetus to try and keep it alive. The scroll never actually showed what the seal looked like, but Naruto theorized that it was something similar to the Shiki Fujin.. Records of Yori and her husband Jin's attempts took Naruto right up to the point where he was born. The scroll only got darker.

_My name is Fugaku Uchiha. I am the Godaime Hokage of Konoha. In order to make Konoha more powerful, I have decided to continue the forbidden research started by the fiend Orochimaru. One of my first subjects, will be Yori's newborn daughter Sakura named after the woman whose cells saved her baby. The strange thing about her is that she has pink hair. That may be due to the hair color the original Sakura aleidly had. Only time may tell._

_I have no records of the First. Orochimaru took care of those when he recreated the first. Sakura's however were left from the Fourth's research in saving the child. Yori was afraid of what may happen to her daughter, so she decided to flee the village with the Inuzuka patriarch as a bodyguard. _

_We managed to capture Yori. Jin resisted, but we had no use for him and killed him. The Inuzuka also got in our way, but I killed him too and presented his carcass to Tsume, and told her that any further resistance would result in her losing valuable members of her pack. I doubt that Tsume will now even think about opposing me again._

Naruto knew in his mind that he should stop reading, but he couldn't. He knew that the baby Sakura, was in fact the Sakura that he met at the chunin exams all that time ago. As he read on, he was horrified to see all the things the Uchiha did to her. Putting her through testing that no human should endure. Naruto remembered that he told Lucien he wouldn't get angry, but was now finding it difficult.Naruto reluctantly read on.

_A problem has arisen. Apparently, Sakura has developed an inner being. This inner is likely related to the original Sakura. We can't have this inner being have a chance of resurfacing, so I have come up with this conclusion. Sakura's memory needs to be changed. We will take her current memories and replace them with ones of her living normally in a caring loving family. Doing this will take a lot energy, but she is still very young so it is possible. I also want to plant a seed in her mind. A memory of my son Sasuke that will cause her to hopelessly fall in love with him. When she does, she and Sasuke will bear many strong children and then we can dispose of the inner. Losing Sakura will be a loss, but it is necessary for the preservation of our village._

Naruto could read no more. Unleashing what could only be described as rage, a red aura started to envelope Naruto. He let out a loud cry of anger and took it out on one of the capsules.

Lucien, hearing the growl, knew that Naruto was beyond pissed. Hurriedly, he ran over to Naruto, only to see the fox shroud with one tail start to form. Lucien ran after Naruto, only to get knocked away by the tail and through one of the capsules. Lucien comtinued to fall backwards before he was knocked up against the wall. He tried to get up, but Naruto grasped at Lucien's throat with his nails beginning to dig into his neck.

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Naruto growled out. Lucien tried to phase through Naruto's choke hold, but he went nowhere. He widened his eyes in horror and came to the conclusion that the current exposure to Kyuubi was affecting Lucien's ability to phase through Naruto.

"I theorized." Lucien coughed out. Naruto wasn't satisfied with that answer and slammed Lucien against the back wall again. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to avoid this." Naruto lifted Lucien up off the ground and threw him across the room and threw another capsule. Lucien got up on one shaky knee and made it up to his feet, but they were not steady beneath him.

Lucien saw Naruto rush him again, and came up with the only way to stop an enraged Naruto. "Would Sakura want this?" Lucien uttered in a raspy voice, still feeling the effects of the choke. Lucien figured that the pink haired girl from the exams was the only thing that could stop a Kyuubified Naruto. The fox shroud began to fade, and Naruto's red slitted eyes, began to shift back to their normal blue ones.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucien limped over where Naruto was, and Naruto looked at Lucien with watery eyes and revealed everything he read in the scroll about what this place was designed for. After the story ended, Naruto could see an emotion rarely seen on his brother in law's face, anger.

"Damn that Orochimaru. It seems like everywhere I go, the shadows of that man follow me. And Fugaku, how can any human plan that?" Lucien collapsed onto one knee, and Naruto looked over Lucien to see if there were any serious wounds, but it looked like Lucien was just bruised and sore. No worse than what Tayuya would do to him in spars when they were younger.

"This is worse than I thought. Very well," Lucien groaned and got back up to his feet with Naruto helping him up. "It looks like there is only one part of the mission left." Lucien turned and smirked at Naruto. Naruto smirked back knowing what his friend was thinking. "Go back to the village, and just wait. I'll bring Sakura to you."

"Oh hell no. I'm coming too."

"No. Right now you are an emotional wreck. I doubt in your emotional state, you could even look at an Uchiha and not leak chakra." Lucien placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You know me, I always come through you know? Now, get the scroll and have the team meet back at the camp and wait for me."

"And what are you going to do?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, wondering what Lucien was up to.

"I have some unfinished business here. Just wait for me at our meeting spot with everyone."

"I'll give you fifteen minutes. If you're not back on the surface in that time, I'm coming here and dragging you all the way back to Tanebi by your ear."

"Trust me, she'd kill me if I wasn't." Lucien smiled confidently and motioned for Naruto to leave with the scrolls. After Naruto left, Lucien went to do something that should have been done a long time ago.

He turned to the master control, where all the tubes connected. When he was crashed through the capsule, Lucien could swear that he smelled some combustible gas coming from the chamber. He theorized that if he released all the gas at once and set an explosive tag with a twenty minute delay, this lab would give the Tanebi team a firework show they would never forget. Finding his way to the controls, Lucien set the gas to begin leaking. "Fugaku, I'll see to it that this place is never used again." As gas started to flow, Lucien took out his tag and lit it. "Next step, Sakura Haruno."

…............

And the mystery is solved. Of course, there are a few holes left to fill in, but I think that the answer is one that some of you expected, while I hope many were thrown for a loop. One of the main goals of this arc, is to make you absolutely loathe Fugaku. Not loathe in a bashing way, but loathe in a villain way.

Wow, 7000 words. Much larger than any of my previous chapters.

Now, it seems that Fugaku knows something about the Mizukage. For those of you who know about who he is, please don't spoil it for those who may not be caught up. For those who don't know, I will give you a warning as to when he is revealed, so spoilers may not be revealed. I for one hate spoilers, so I'll leave it to you.

Huge props to Catsi this chapter. He came up with a very large portion to Sakura's past. I'm personally giving him a thanks here because his involvement was key for this chapter being as it is now.

That should cover the ending notes.

Thank you for reading Tanebi.

Next Chapter: Larsa

Please review.


	17. Larsa

Tanebi

Chapter 17- Larsa

Ah, it's so nice to be back. I really missed writing this story and I missed all the reviews and other stuff that you gave me.

Alright here we go.

* * *

"Well what do we do now?" Sasame said. She twirled around her orange hair in her finger as the group lay in their circle.

"We only have one part left." Lucien said. He had the scroll in his hands, but he hadn't told anyone what was inside it specifically yet. He only told them what he felt was necessary and that was simply that Sakura was a part in an experiment. "Naruto, I think it's time that you take Hana and Shikamaru back to Tanebi. Tenten, you should meet up with Hinata and Neji at the ambush point. Sasame, you're with me."

"No Lucien! I think I should take care of this part! _You_ take this back to Tanebi!" Naruto shouted from across the campfire.

"No Naruto! Need I remind you what almost happened back there?" Lucien said.

"It was an accident alright. You know something like that will not happen again. I want to, no I need to do this."

"No. Naruto, just trust me on this. You know as well as anyone else that I am very thorough and I never fail."

"Still, I demand that you let me do this."

"And how would you do it? How would you get her out of there?"

"I don't know, but I'll think of something."

"And I've already _thought_ of something that will work. Trust me, I'll get her." Lucien softened up his voice at the end. He knew that it was imperative that Naruto let Lucien handle the end of the operation. The mission needed to be handled delicately and that was not Naruto's forte.

Naruto growled and turned away from the campfire. He knew that his friend was right, he always was. Knowing that however didn't make him feel any better about it.

"Besides Naruto, I have one other critical advantage over you."

"Oh and what could _that_ possibly be?" Naruto asked. He crossed arms over his chest and continued to look the other way.

"They've never seen my face before."

"Nobody has seen your face before!"

"And yet they have seen yours. They have seen all of yours except for mine and Sasame's." Lucien looked all around the campfire as he spoke, looking each member of the group in the eyes. "Therefore, I am the only person who can do this." Lucien neglected to mention Asuma because he had left just after the group escaped from the facility.

"Well what do you need me for Lucien-taicho?" Sasame wasn't a combat specialist by any means. She was not the best in combat either so it seemed that her set of skills wouldn't be needed for the operation.

"Sasame, I need you to change my face and body; make it look like I just escaped from an explosion."

The explosion had been larger than the group anticipated. The intense flames coming from the facility looked bright as the Sun covering the night sky. It boomed a thunderous crash that sounded like it could have been heard all the way to Tanebi. Surely none of the ANBU in the facility could have survived and that scenario was the one Lucien was banking on.

"You all have your orders."

"Wait a second." Tenten interrupted. Lucien looked at her curiously. Tenten was not a person who would interrupt an order unless it was important. "Shouldn't we wait until after Sasame changes your face? I mean it would give us time to … regroup. Yeah that's it, regroup after … running through the facility. Heh heh." Tenten rubbed the back of her head. She was wondering if anyone thought that wounded weird.

"What are you talking about?"

"Uh yeah. You know now that you mention it I am pretty tired as well. And I'm sure that the pups aren't feeling well either." Hana said.

"Yeah traveling back to Tanebi in this condition would be far too troublesome."

"You three are aware that you _are_ on an important mission right?" Tenten, Hana, and Shikamaru all nodded in agreement, but at the same time he could tell that they were stalling for something. "Then we leave now."

Naruto began to voice his opinion, but he was cut off. "Oh no. I know for a fact that you aren't tired. Tell me, what could possibly be so important that you would risk suspending and important mission."

"We want to see your face okay?" Naruto blurted out. He knew that Tenten and Hana would never admit to putting such a cause ahead of their mission. Shikamaru, Naruto reckoned was the only one being honest.

"You would risk the mission, to see my face?"

"Come on, we're never going to get another chance at this. Every time I tried to sneak a peak in our gennin days, you'd always dodge us. And then the one time, the one time I just asked you, you showed me another mask. Who does that?"

"I did that to drive you nuts. I never thought it would interfere with an actual mission. Besides it would take hours for Sasame to apply the care to my face so ..."

"Actually taicho, it would only take about ten minutes or so ..."

"You're not helping Sasame!" Lucien took a deep breath. He hadn't planned on taking this long doing absolutely nothing. That hadn't happened since his gennin years. He felt that in order to actually complete his objective he would need concede his argument. "Alright. You all wait here and then the moment you get a look, get lost. We've wasted enough time here."

* * *

"So did you hear about the commotion last night?" Sakura asked. She was walking down the street talking to Ino. All around the village people heard of a mysterious explosion somewhere close by. They had no idea what it was but there was a sense a paranoia all around the village.

"Duh forehead. Everyone in the village heard it. You think Tanebi is moving?" Even though there has been a war going on, the citizens of Konoha hadn't felt it too much. The fighting in the war had taken place almost exclusively in Rice, Wind, and Earth country with Rice country being the primary theater. Most of the villagers were a bit panicked as they did not know if Tanebi had began to move.

"I don't think so Ino. That explosion sounded like it was about seventy-five or so kilometers south of us. Two hundred if it was a huge one. That's coming the exact opposite direction of Rice country, but still really far from Wind. If Tanebi attacked, it would likely be in the direction of Gordius and near the border."

"Well if it wasn't an attack from Tanebi, what the hell was it?"

"My guess is that it's some research facility or something. Either that or it's a local militia WHAT THE HELL?!" Sakura ran forward as she saw a crowd gathered around a fallen shinobi on the streets. Just from the look of him she could tell that something bad happened. His silver hair was marred with dirt and his face was covered in burn marks. At his side, an orange haired girl leaned over him, a nervous wreck calling for some medics. Both of them wore Konoha headbands.

Sakura and Ino ran towards the commotion. Sakura, being much better at learning medicine over the past few years thought that maybe there was something that she could do for him. She wasn't expecting to help him fully recover, but she wanted to know if there was at least something she could do about his burns.

Sakura got over to him and immediately ran a diagnostic jutsu over him. The first thing she checked over was for any vital signs of life. After she saw that all of his vital signs were strong, she began to check over any signs that could have pointed to an attack. Again her scan came up with nothing. From her perspective, it seemed as if there nothing wrong with him at all. But that didn't explain why he collapsed on the street unless there was something wrong with him mentally. With the way his partner was acting, it was completely possible that maybe a teammate died, but even then shinobi don't often pass out in the middle of the street.

Sakura bit her bottom lip. She wanted to know more about this, but the only way to do that would be to go inside his head. She could have asked Ino to do it, but for a Yamanaka to do that is a violation of the shinobi handbook in case of emergency or danger to the village. With all his vital signs still strong, there was no way Sakura could justify it. Before Sakura could turn to Ino, the Konoha medics had arrived and taken him away to the hospital. After the commotion stopped, Sakura was assaulted with questions from the orange haired girl.

"Well? Tell me, how is he?" Sakura felt bad for the girl. She looked to be about the same age as her and she likely already lost a teammate. Sakura smiled at her though because she knew that she wouldn't have to lose another.

"He'll be fine. All his vitals are uninjured. Tell me though, what happened? Were you two in the explosion last night?" Her answer scared the surrounding crowd to the core.

"Yes. Larsa, Guinivere, and myself were stationed at a Konoha ANBU facility to the south of here. I don't even know how it happened, but one of the ANBU there got killed and replaced by the A-class Bingo book shinobi Deep."

"Lucien." Sakura said dryly. Sakura could remember him clearly. She could never forget about how he embarrassed Sasuke in front of the entire world by giving him the win. Even now she heard rumors of gorilla attacks led by a ghost who could go right through solid objects. Konoha nicknamed him Deep. Another thought then occurred to Sakura. If Lucien was there than there was always a possibility that … "Tell me, was there a boy about my age there with whiskers on his cheeks? Or a girl with red hair and a foul mouth?"

Ino raised her eyebrows. She remembered the verbal lashing that Kurenai gave Sakura over this same subject last time. Ono thought that if given enough time Sakura would get over everything that happened at the exams, but now it seemed as if no amount of time could ever make Sakura forget about the boy. Even though she wishes that she could.

"N-no, Naruto and Tayuya Uzumaki were not among the invaders." Sakura figured that this girl knew who she was talking about, but was not expecting both of their real names. The whole world knew of their bloodlines and the fact that they could be anyone, anywhere, and at any given time. Using their real names and not their code names would surely spread panic around the village. "I'm sorry, but I must check and see how Larsa is doing." With that, the orange haired kunoichi jumped on a building and raced over towards the direction of the hospital, but not before casting a hateful glance at Sakura.

"Phew that was a close one eh forehead?"

Sakura stayed kneeling on the ground with her eyes transfixed on the retreating form of the girl. Inside, she knew that something didn't sit right with her but she had no idea what it was. The girl was panicked, but her details of the report were too clear and that the guy showed absolutely no signs of injury. Add into the fact that the medics got to the scene very quickly makes everything look suspicious.

"Forehead? Hellllllooooooo? You there?"

Sakura snapped her attention back to Ino. Ino had her arms crossed over her chest tapping her foot on the ground several times. From her experience, Sakura knew that meant Ino was losing her patience. "Sorry Ino. I was just … tired from the healing."

"You're a horrible liar forehead you know that? Why not just tell me what's bugging you?"

Sakura went through her thoughts with Ino. She told her about every doubt she had about the boy and girl that just went through. Ino didn't quite know how to respond. Every point Sakura made seemed feasible, but at the same time it just seemed too outrageous to be true.

"Forehead, are you trying to tell me ..."

"It's possible Ino. Think about it. Fire country has not even been attacked yet. It's entirely possible that whoever it was that blew up the facility were agents of Rice country that impersonated themselves as Konoha ANBU and blew up that facility. Then they're sending a message to their comrades who have invaded Konoha. With no fighting in Fire Country, few would even suspect a Tanebi agent in our ranks."

"Not to mention that Tanebi originally separated from us in the beginning. It's possible that they could have been with us from the beginning and we would have been none the wiser." Ino finished Sakura's thoughts. Silence stayed with the two of them for a few moments. There was one fact that Sakura left out because she didn't think that Ino would want to hear about it, but Sakura could swear that she sensed killing intent from the orange haired girl the second that she mentioned Naruto. It felt like the same intent that Ino would aim at Sakura when they were younger and arguing about Sasuke. It seemed odd that a Konoha kunoichi would feel jealousy over the main enemy of Konoha.

It seemed odd for Sakura to leave something like that out. She hadn't seen Naruto in over three years. Plus he was officially an enemy now. However at the same time even the prospect of having Naruto close to her again made her feel different. She had always felt that she was in love with Sasuke and reasoned with herself that what she felt over Naruto those few years ago was nothing more than a cry for help. It was a lame excuse and she knew it, but it was the only way that she could reason feeling strongly about something other than her parents and Sasuke.

Sakura went for the most of the rest of her day doing her normal regimen. She ate a quick lunch containing a bit of fruit and meat, and then spent the next couple of hours pouring over a medical ninjutsu scroll. It was an advanced scroll, so everything in it was difficult. It's difficulty was one of the reasons she ate so much more meat than she used to. She needed the extra protein because it boosts chakra reserves.

After pouring into that, she would figure out a way to goad Kiba into sparring with her. At first he was against it because he was afraid of hurting her. A couple of punches across the face though quickly changed his mind though. At first, she couldn't last more than a few seconds. Sakura was strong, but Kiba was much faster, stronger, and motivated to surpass Sasuke. As the months went by, Sakura began to last longer and longer. After the first year, Sakura managed to land a real blow on Kiba, but even after that she failed to beat him in a full on taijutsu battle. Eventually, she began to aim for Kiba's tendons in his legs to negate his speed. She saved that strategy and eventually beat him with it. Even to this day it was the only time she beat Kiba.

After sparring with Kiba, it would be getting close to nighttime and she would eat again before taking a late shift at the hospital until 11 and then she would go to sleep. She found it odd that she and her team didn't go on missions anymore. But then again, Sasuke was a huge target. She also found it odd that she and her team had yet to be deployed. She reasoned though that if her team was to be deployed, it would be for a major push against Tanebi. Right now, any major push had been stalled because supply lines were difficult to establish in Rice country. Somehow, Tanebi shinobi were able to sniff out every single supply line and destroy it. As of now, only eight shinobi had been established as leaders of these ambush squads, and Naruto, Tayuya, and Lucien were three of them. All three had been classified as A-class villains in the Bingo book and had a flee on sight order placed on them.

Sakura had just finished training with her medical scrolls when a summons came from the Hokage. It was an order to meet at the hospital. The boy had awoken.

…......

Fugaku looked over the young boy brought in with a calculating eye. He, like all the village had heard about the commotion from the previous night and knew exactly what facility of his was under attack. His concern though was how Tanebi could possibly know of its whereabouts. He made complete sure that he erased any and all part of the location or specific parts of the project he poured so much of his time into. There should have been no way that what happened happened. This boy that lay before him unconscious was the only one who could tell him what he needed to know.

At his side was Inochi Yamanaka, a loyal member of the village and one of the few he could ask to delve into the mind of this boy and see if he can find some answers to the puzzle that lay in front of him.

"Hokage-sama are you sure of this?" Inochi asked.

"Yes, the disturbance last night was one of national security. We have been untouched by the war, but there may be rats in hiding that we don't have a clue about. We must know who did this and have them immediately caught and killed, or else the people may panic."

Inochi knew that the Hokage was right. He could sense that in the village, there was a definite sense of worry. If that commotion wasn't taken care of immediately, it could give Tanebi a chance to get some ground under them and begin to push back on Konoha. Carefully, he put his hands in the seal for his jutsu. "Ninja art, mind walk jutsu".

Inochi's body hung limp in the nurse's awaiting arms as Inochi entered the boy's mind. When he awoke, he found himself inside of a lab with many infants locked up in tubes. It was strange. Every time he tried to extract information from somebody's head, it was always black as if they were keeping him away, but this was new. Inochi widened his eyes as he realized that the shinobi wanted him to see this, but whether it be for good or evil he didn't know. After a near eternity in Inochi's reasoning, a boy appeared in front of him. It was the boy Larsa, only instead of a Konoha protector, he wore the symbol of Tanebi."

"Hm, this is unexpected. I was expecting that Ino girl."

Inochi was surprised to hear his daughter's name. He immediately wanted to leave and report but the shinobi halted him by running his arm down his sternum. It was a part of the shinobi code that that sign meant that he only wished to talk and to leave in the middle of it would be a violation of the fabric of the shinobi code. Even shinobi at war cannot break the code. Inochi did the same, but was planning on giving this boy to the Hokage as soon as discussion ended.

"Who are you, what is this place, and why have you brought me here?" Inochi needed answers. If that boy brought him here it was for good reason.

"My name? I have many names. However I think the ones that apply the most here to you are Cerebral Assassin, Deep, or Lucien."

Inochi took a step back. He knew that this ninja was a dangerous one, and he wishes that he was not obligated to stay.

"Don't like the scenery? Neither did I." Lucien took a look around the building with a disgusted sneer. "This place here is the facility Naruto Uzumaki and I destroyed with our bare hands."

"Impossible! There's no way that our Hokage would condone such cruel treatment to helpless infants!"

"You're in my mind. What you see are all images that I myself have seen and you know that. Explain to me then where we are? You knew Kushina-sama did you not? Do you think that she would create a place like this?"

Inochi bit his tongue. The boy was right but he also knew that the Will of Fire would never allow something like this to exist.

"Relax, your Hokage did not create this place. Orochimaru did."

"So why are you telling me this? If that bastard created this place, then why did you force me here!?"

"Why do you ask questions to which you know the answers?" Lucien began to walk in circles around Inochi. Inochi didn't feel that he could move. His stomach turned around inside of him as if he were ready to throw up. Inochi came to a conclusion that he didn't like.

"Let me tell you a story about a man and a woman."

"STOP JOKING WITH ME DAMMIT!!"

"It all comes together at the end. Don't worry, it will answer all your questions." Lucien began to recite the story of how the Konoha first came to be. He recited from memory everything he learned from the scroll, until he came to Sakura's climatic end.

"You have answered nothing. What does this place have to do with something over 400 years ago?"

"The woman was powerful so Orochimaru wanted that power. He tried to duplicate it and turn it into a power he could tap into at will. He failed and this place was buried by Sarutobi never to see light of day. However, one of Yondaimes friends became ill with her child and wasn't going to live. Yondaime unearthed this facility and used Orochimaru's research for good and saved the girl's life. Shortly after, Kyuubi attacked and Minato altered the seal and added it to his son."

"A touching story. But you still have yet to tell me anything useful. You have little time so get to the point!"

"After the coup, the woman fled the village, but she was caught and gave birth to a young girl with pink hair taking after the woman who 'aided' her birth."

"Sakura?!"

"So you know her? Then you also know that she is adopted?"

"Yes. Hokage-sama saw that she had good parents. They love her more than anything else so what's your point?"

"Do you know of her past? What happened before the adoption?" Inochi shook his head. He didn't know, but he was afraid to know the answer. Still, something almost forced him to listen. A power that he had no control over. "She was raised here. Well, raised isn't a good word to use, more like, experimented on." Lucien altered the scene then to one created based on the tests found in the scroll. Inochi saw Sakura being treated as a guinea pig. He saw them push her to the limit on a constant basis to see how far she would go until she unleashed her power. They would take other children and have them befriend her, only to have Sakura witness them die. Inochi had to witness all of it as Lucien spoke to him.

"Every day for her was nothing more than tests, exams, but mostly … torture. It was here that her inner persona was created. Fugaku feared this so he temporarily sealed her mind and gave her to a loving family where she could grow up in peace, marry Sasuke, and give birth to many children. Only to die by the hand of her beloved. That was the plan."

Inochi opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out. Every word sounded feasible and the evidence around him was crushing. He wanted, pleaded that this was all a fabrication, but the mind doesn't lie. Inochi had known of Sakura's inner persona. He had examined her after many girls picked on her as a child. Over time, he came to see her as his second daughter, and these images hurt him a lot.

"What is your intent? What are you doing here? Why did you show me this?" Inochi sobbed. Even though he was in the presence of an enemy, hearing the cruel story of Sakura, his second daughter crushed his heart.

"I only intend to liberate Sakura from this place. I wish to bring her to her beloved, even if those two are too dense to see it."

"Surely you're joking. I know you're not that good. What's your real plan?"

"Just that. What Sakura decides to do after she hears the truth is her business, but we will adhere to her decision. If she decides to come back here, we will escort her back here ourselves. If she wants to stop fighting, we will grant her land in Tanebi after the war. If she decides to cooperate with us well … nobody will object."

"So, you wish to turn her against us?"

"Only if she wishes."

"And you promise that you won't so much as touch a pink hair on her head?"

"If I did, Naruto might kill me. Literally, I'm not joking."

Inochi remained silent. This whole scene around him almost choked the life out of him and he just wanted to be liberated from this place. But more importantly he wanted Sakura to truly be free of the hold Fugaku had on her. Even though it went against the conduct of his village, he came to a swift decision that it was the only thing that he could do to free Sakura.

"If you promise me that throughout the war, you personally see to it that Ino, Sakura, and my wife are not harmed by any Tanebi influence, I will let you go."

Lucien was shocked to hear this development. Surely he was hoping for something like this to happen, but he knew that often times plans break down. He was glad that he didn't have to go to desperate means to try to silence Inochi. It wasn't something he wanted to, or thought he even could do. But a bluff may have been necessary.

"It is impossible to outright guarantee safety, however I will put the word out to all of my men that they are not to touch your daughter or wife. As far as Sakura … well ..." Lucien showed Inochi another scene. This one was that of Naruto holding Lucien by the throat and ready to kill him. "He's my best friend, brother in law, and my best man and he would do that to me. Trust me, she's in good hands."

Inochi smiled lightly. Inochi could see in the image that Naruto was angry over Sakura and would go to the most extreme lengths to protect her. He was glad that someone else had genuine feelings for Sakura and did want want to simply use her for her power. Inochi was about to leave when he remembered something important that he had to tell Lucien.

"When you awake, you have no wife and daughter. Remember that."

Lucien seemed to understand the message and nodded his head. Inochi then fazed out of the shinobi's mind, more confused and conflicted than he had ever been in his life.

Inochi was thrust back into his body and he clutched his head. He knew that while he and Lucien had been talking for a number of hours, only seconds had taken place in the outside world.

"Ohhh. Ahhhh." Inochi groaned as he continued to clutch his head.

"Well, how was it?" Fugaku asked.

"I don't know. I tried to pull at his memories but then he attacked me and expelled me from his mind."

"Well, it looks like he's one of ours." Inochi tried to look confused. He knew all too well that the best Konoha ANBU had to be trained to resist mind attacks from anyone including allies. Letting a shinobi ally or enemy into the mind was dangerous especially when they are guarding heavy secrets. Inochi concluded that facility was likely an S-class secret.

"Hokage-sama, I used a lot of chakra withstanding his attacks on my mind. With your grace, I would like to go home and recover my mental strength again."

"Yes Inochi, you may go. Tell your daughter that Sasuke sends his regards."

Inochi wanted to widen his eyes and open his mouth, but he knew he couldn't. In all the worrying about Sakura, he somehow thought that Ino had gotten away from this whole thing. However, he reasoned that if Sakura had been tampered, maybe Ino had too. This matter was one that Inochi knew he had to get to the bottom of.

It was hours before the shinobi awoke and Fugaku immediately sent for his son's team. He brought them there to aid in the questioning process, and he heard that Sakura had been with the shinobi when he collapsed. Perhaps she could shine some light on this enigma.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kiba arrived at the hospital room in short order. Sasuke arrived first, followed by Sakura and Kiba brought up the rear. Under normal circumstances he would be worried, but Hana found out a way to change Lucien's scent so that Kiba wouldn't be able to recognize it. It wouldn't last forever, but it would last long enough to set the trap. He smiled when he saw that he confused even Sasuke with showing his face wounded. His plan was going perfectly. As usual, Sasuke sneered at Kiba when he walked in. Despite how much Kiba improved, he was never able to beat Sasuke.

"Well, how are you feeling? Can you talk?" Fugaku asked. Lucien nodded. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Hakage-sama, it was horrible. We were there, Guinivere, Sasame, and myself were doing our rounds when we were attacked."

"Were they outsiders?" Sasuke asked. Lucien shook his head.

"No, they were among us. All of them were disguised as scientists. All of a sudden, one of them attacked us, and before we knew it, it seemed like the facility was crawling with them."

"How many were there?" Kiba wondered.

"I don't know. Probably a couple dozen, but the thing is we couldn't tell friend from foe and our defenses were quickly picked apart. It was a killing field. Anyway, I managed to find one of them and identified him. I was about to impale him when he vanished through a wall. It was Lucien, the Cerebral Assassin."

Sasuke widened his eyes. Lucien and Itachi were his two biggest enemies and he promised himself that he would kill them both by the end of the war. Chakra began to ooze off Sasuke rolling in waves of fierce hatred at the bare mention of Lucien's name.

"When he left, I didn't sense a trap or anything. I just went after him. I chased him through the facility and eventually out the door. I didn't realize it then, but they left because they rigged the place to explode. I barely made it out, but not without damage. I doubt anyone else survived."

"Father, let me chase him down."

Fugaku looked at Sasuke and saw fire in his eyes. Sasuke throughout his life always seemed motivated for something, but this was the first time in his life, he'd ever seen that look from Sasuke. It reminded him of the moment came when he knew he was going to be Hokage and he didn't want to strip his son of that.

He was hesitant to send Sakura though. He had no idea what or how much they knew, but sending Sakura could be risky. It was a risk though that he was willing to take.

"Please hokage-sama. Take me as well." Larsa said weakly as he pushed himself up from his bed. "Please, I want to avenge my teammates and my fellow shinobi."

"You're hurt and will only slow us down. Forget about it. Besides, I decided long ago that_ I _would kill Lucien. You would only get in my way."

"I'm fine. Give me a night please. I overheard their course when they were talking and their leader's identity. I saw his face."

Sasuke lunged out and grabbed Larsa by the neck, right where Naruto choked him earlier. "Show me his face!! I must see it now!!"

Kiba and Sakura had to double team Sasuke to get him off. Eventually they did, but they still had to spend most of their energy keeping the seething shinobi at bay.

Fugaku thought about it. Sending in only Sasuke's unit would be an invitation to disaster no matter how motivated Sasuke is. Plus, this ANBU had to have been one of his best and fastest. He was probably a member of ROOT. He felt that he could trust him. When asked about his wife and daughter, he refused having both which was a good sign that he was assigned there.

"Sakura, how hurt is he?"

Sakura went over to examine him. As with the last time she did so, all signs pointed positive.

"Hokage-sama, all signs point to health. Strong pulse, strong organs, no other internal injuries. It seems that the only damage is surface. It doesn't look like he has any signs of chakra depletion either. I think that the passing out was simply from fatigue."

"It's settled. You four will leave in the morning."

Lucien grinned. Not because he could go on the mission, but because all the pieces of his puzzle were fitting together perfectly. All that was left was for Sasame to set up an ambush point.


	18. Traitor

Tanebi

Chapter 18 Traitor

Hey guys, been a while right.

Basically, the reason that I haven't written lately is that I have been absolutely swamped recently. Good thing for me is that my schedule is a lot lighter now.

Anyway, this is the last chapter in the flashback part. After this, the story is back to moving forward and I have unpredictability back on my side.

Kudos to Catsi as usual. In fact even more so because after months of nothing, he gets a PM and I have very fast results. Also, he gave me a lot of suggestions on how this chapter goes. The earlier version I had was … yikes.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. Your patience with me is awesome.

Let's get on with the story.

…......

"Why are we stopping? In case you forgot, the enemy has a large head start on us."

"Because Sasuke, only mistakes happen if we act too hastily. Not only do we need to catch them, but we also need to be able to take the other team out." Larsa explained. "Besides, you're forgetting one key advantage that we have."

"Oh, and just what would that be oh fearless leader? Please enlighten us." Sasuke said. He turned away from Larsa and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"They're in our territory. They need to be extra careful and that is what will allow us to overtake them." Larsa reached into his pack and pulled out a map of Fire Country and Rice Country. "Look here." He pointed at a large city near the border. "This city here is a large base for our forces. The enemy will have to be sure to take the long way around. Also, they can't escape to the west because that would intrude on Rain. Therefore in order to reach the destination, they need to take a roundabout path. If we cut along the river close to the city, we should be able to reach this X before they get there."

"It looks pretty sound. Even if we sleep here tonight, we should make it to the ambush point before they do. That way, when we get to them, they'll be a lot more tired." Sakura said.

"But how are you so certain that they will bypass the city? Why wouldn't they risk getting through?" Kiba asked.

"The information stored at the facility they destroyed is S ranked in its secrecy. I don't think they would put something that important in the hands of mere chance." Larsa said.

"Do you even know what was there?" Sasuke asked. He was skeptical. This guy seemed about as useless as his teammates.

"As a guard my information was limited. What I do know is that they were experimenting in genetic manipulation."

"Genetic manipulation? What's that?" Kiba asked.

"They would take certain test subjects and insert them with a special sample that would hopefully allow them to recreate a previously extinct bloodline. At least, that's what my teammate thought."

Sakura gasped. "That's awful. None of the subjects survived did they?"

"Not that I know of. I never got a good look at any of the subjects. However, I wouldn't be surprised if somehow one subject managed to escape." Larsa took a brief look at Sakura, but she had no idea why. "Now, I think that it would be best to make camp here. Kiba, you go and find us some meat, Sakura, water, and Sasuke and myself should find some wood."

"Who made you in charge? As I recall, my father put me in charge." Sasuke growled.

"Would you do it any differently? Kiba's nose should find fresh meat quickly, and Sakura can tell if the water that she finds is safe to drink."

"It's the principle. As team captain, I call the shots, not you!"

"And you need to realize that the team we are tracking are elite. A combination of Hyuuga and the so called Cerebral Assassin. I would think that you would take this mission more seriously and rely on those with experience."

"I have experience. Need I remind you that I beat him at the Chunin exams? As far as the Hyuuga, they were always beneath our feet!" Sasuke began to turn red in the face.

"Oh yes I heard about that. The boy gave up right when he had you beat. That must have been embarrassing."

Sasuke got up and went right to Larsa's face. The two them were so close that their noses were touching each other.

"Hey guys! Cool it!" Kiba yelled. The interaction between Larsa and Sasuke was beginning to put the team dynamic in jeopardy and the mission had barely started.

"Back off mutt!!"

Larsa got up and started walking calmly into the forest. "In case you didn't notice Sasuke, Sakura already left. Maybe you should do the same."

With those words, Kiba left the camp as well to do his task leaving Sasuke in the clearing. "That man. Why is it the the very sight of him ticks me off?"

…...

"Hey Naruto, what's wrong?" Hana asked.

"I'm worried. I mean, I know Lucien will be careful and everything, but all in the same … He's been so vague throughout this mission, like he doesn't trust me or anything."

"Naruto, if for example, you knew that Tayuya was involved in something dangerous, and there was one person you wouldn't tell, who would it be?"

"Shikamaru … what kind of question is that?"

"Troublesome. Look, if something happened to Tayuya, Lucien would run gung ho into enemy territory as if he were … well … you. A person that you care for strongly can provoke unpredictable reactions."

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?"

"Forget it. It's too much trouble to explain. Just remember it's not a trust issue. From a strategy perspective, you want to limit the unknown, and you Naruto are a walking unknown." Shikamaru sighed. The conversation was far more trouble than he had intended.

"Not bad Shikamaru. For a lazy bastard, you make a good point."

"Troublesome."

"Hey Hana, can you do me a favor?" Naruto asked.

"You want me to check on him? Offer backup?"

"How did you know?"

"I can smell it on ya from a mile away." Hana waved her hand in front of her face to further the point. Naruto sighed. He knew he could trust Hana and Lucien, but still the mission gave him a bad feeling. He looked up to the sky, and even though there were no shades of pink or emerald anywhere, it didn't stop him from thinking about Sakura. He knew that she was in good hands, but he didn't like that those hands weren't his.

…....

Sakura finished her task relatively quickly. She got lucky and found a large source of water nearby. What made her luck even better was that the water was pure of any harmful bacteria or anything of the sort. She was about to head back to the camp when she heard voices. The voices were very quiet and she couldn't hear much, but it was about as far as she could go before opening herself open to detection. She drew a kunai and hid behind a tree.

"...ten .. am.... poi.." The voice belonged to a female. It was a female that Sakura was sure she heard before. However, she couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"Sas... car... wait." That voice belonged to Larsa. Sakura had no idea who Larsa was talking to. The voice she heard sounded familiar to her, but she just couldn't seem to place it anywhere. "Sakura, you can come out you know. We're not enemies."

Sakura was so startled by that, she nearly dropped the canteens on the forest ground. She kept her kunai out and walked ahead. She noticed that the girl had long orange hair. Sakura now knew where she heard the voice. It was the hysterical woman that was bent over Larsa's body when she found him.

"Sakura, this is Guinivere. Guinivere, Sakura."

"I know you! You saved Larsa-kun's life in the street! Thank you so much for that!" Sasame ran up to Sakura and gave her a backbreaking hug that Sakura was not ready at all for. Larsa raised an eye at that, but let it go immediately. Sakura didn't know why, but she had a feeling that this kunoichi had some sort of vendetta against her. She wondered if she had been another one of Sasuke's admirers. After all, they were close in age.

"Guinivere, let's not try to break my teammate okay?"

Guinivere let go of Sakura and blushed. Something about this girl clicked in her head though and she had no idea why. There is one thing Sakura did know: usually when you forget something, it comes back to bite her in the ass at the worst possible moment. Looking over at Larsa was also bringing up a feeling of nostalgia. It was as if she had seen him before but had no idea where.

"Larsa, what are you two talking about?"

"Guinivere is giving me a status report on Konoha. It seems that another survivor from the explosion was found."

"Yes, he confirmed your earlier report of Lucien in the area. He was also able to point out a spy or two hidden within our ranks."

"A spy? Who was it?"

"Some Chunin named Daisuke. He changed his name after his brother was killed in the separation."

"_Something's off. Her story … it just seems too rehearsed. As if she practiced saying this before. _Sakura thought to herself. Something about these two were bugging her. It was Larsa especially that was nagging at her mind. She could tell from the first time she met him that he seemed familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Thanks for the report. Any news on our other companion?"

Guinivere's face turned downcast. "No."

Larsa also turned his face to the ground. "I see."

Larsa and Guinivere stood in silence for their commarade. Sakura felt bad for them. She had never felt the loss of a teammate before and, hopes that she never will. Over the course of her ninja career, she had grown very close to Sasuke and Kiba. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if she were separated from them. Looking at the blue sky reminded Sakura of something else. It reminded her of another person she had grown attached to in a short period of time. Despite everything though, Sakura didn't want to see him now. Even three years apart, she didn't think that she could bring herself to hurt Naruto.

"That's all. Thank you."

"Hai taicho."

Guinivere left shortly after, but something still didn't seem right. It sounded a bit off that a teammate would call another ninja of the same rank taicho. It also went against her earlier title that she gave him, Larsa-kun. That didn't sit well with her. The only question for her is what to do about it. She supposed that she could talk to Sasuke or Kiba about it, but she figured that might do more harm than good. Telling both of them could get them in conflicting points of view which would harm the mission. She assumed that she could only tell one of them, but that would cause the other to be suspicious. Sakura figured that the best course of action would be to monitor Larsa much more closely.

Larsa took a calculating gaze back at Sakura. He knew that she must have noticed Sasame's slip. As good as she was at playing other parts, even she couldn't avoid an occasional slip of tongue. Another thing he noticed was the cold glare present whenever she thought Sakura wasn't looking. It was only for a brief instant, but it was long enough for him to catch it. He knew that she covered it up well, but he didn't know if Sakura caught it or not.

Sakura and her group continued their pursuit at a rapid pace, stopping only briefly for food and water. Throughout the trip, Sakura noticed nothing different in Larsa's behavior. He acted the same way a normal Konoha shinobi would, but even then she still had the feeling at the pit of her stomach that something was not right in the group. Sakura was never wrong about these things.

They passed by Fire Country quickly. It didn't take the group too long to get near the border of Fire Country when it started to rain.

"Hmm, this is bad." Larsa said.

"What the rain?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, We're quickly approaching the ambush point. If there was a spot where they would suddenly attack us, it would be here."

"So? You scared or something? Maybe you want another break?" Sasuke began to taunt. He had enough of the delays and any further delay would take away from his objective.

"Hyuuga. Ever since the split, Tanebi has found a new use for the Hyuuga. Their eyesight and abilities make them perfect fighters for weather like this."

"How exactly did you come by this information?" Sakura asked. Laras looked over at Sakura confused. "Larsa, who are you exactly?"

"Why Sakura, whatever are you getting at?" Larsa crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at her.

"Don't play dumb! How is it that you know way more about our enemy than we do? Why is it that you were the only survivor in the explosion? Why did you pass out in the middle of the road when you had no injuries? It's too many questions and before I go on, I want answers!" Sakura drew a kunai from her pouch and held it in front of Larsa.

"If you had these suspicions Sakura, why did you not ask me about them? Or, rather, why didn't you ask them? Do you not trust them?" Larsa took a glance back at Kiba and Sasuke. Kiba wore a confused look on his face. It was like he had no idea what was going on, while Sasuke began to get impatient.

"I trust them with my life."

"Then why did you not tell them of a potential spy in your group?"

"Sakura, what's going on?" Sasuke asked.

Larsa laughed. "I should have known. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to figure it out. Of course, I knew that Sakura would be the first to discover my rouse. That's why when only around her, I barely even tried."

"Why you!!" Kiba screamed as he attacked Larsa, only to be attacked by a kunai thrown from a tree.

"You Sasuke were so anxious to get your hands on Lucien but why? After all, you've never seen his face. Amazing how a bright shinobi like yourself can be so easily deceived."

"I knew it. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were up to no good." Sakura said.

"You want to make a fool of me!! DIE!!" Sasuke roared as he drew a kunai out and attacked the shinobi. Lucien phased right through Sasuke's charge and when Sasuke turned around, he ran right into a gentle fist attack causing him to stagger backward..

Sakrua looked to where Kiba was only to see another Hyuuga and a kunoichi backing Kiba and Akamaru back against another tree. It didn't seem as if they would hold up well for much longer.

"Now Sakura, let's see what you've got. Show me the power that injured my wife three years ago."

Sakura backed up. She had no idea what Lucien was talking about. "Why me? What's so special about me?"

"Let's just say that I stumbled on some information and because of it have come up with a theory. I wish to test that theory now."

Sakura looked to her left and right. To her right, Kiba kept backing up furiously evading attacks from every angle possible. At her left, Sasuke was a bit stunned from the first attack, but now he was struggling against Hinata.

"I wouldn't worry about them." Lucien said. Sakura jumped. The voice came from right behind her. She turned around and saw the point of a kunai grazing her back. _He's not joking. Had he intended, he could have easily killed me just now. Why didn't he?_

Sakura awoke from her slight daze to see Lucien coming at her fast with a kunai drawn. Sakura evaded the attack to her left and tried to throw a volley of kunai back at Lucien. Lucien phased right through each of the kunai without looking back as if he expected the attack.

"Not bad Sakura. Of course, not bad won't cut it against me."

Sakura readied herself in a defensive stance as Lucien charged at her again. This time, he slid low to the ground in an attempt to sweep out Sakura's legs. Sakura kicked the mud beneath her feet onto Lucien. She then ran forward and hit Lucien with a low drop kick, sending him back into the trees.

Lucien rebounded from the trees and again launched himself at Sakura. Sakura readied herself for a kick when Lucien phased through her and took out her legs with a sweep. The other shinobi then positioned himself for an ax kick on Sakura's back when the chunin changed her direction in midair and avoided the blow. She then tried to counter with a kunai, which was blocked with another kunai. Sakura smirked as she pulled on the ninja wire attached to her kunai and tried to pierce Lucien's chest with it. Lucien saw the attack coming and charged Sakura and hit her with a knee to the stomach. Sakura skidded five feet along the mud and pulled herself to her knees.

"I must say I'm impressed. Very few manage to actually hit me. But then again, there's a difference between hitting me and beating me. With your current strength you are quite skilled. But the gap between us is still quite large." Sakura looked at Lucien with a snarl. He was beginning to pant, which showed that her attacks were having an effect. However, she was much more worn down. It didn't help her either that the rain continued to pour down and her style was not meant for rain.

"May I ask you something? Why aren't you using your genjutsu on me?" Lucien asked. His face was stone and impossible to read. Sakura didn't know if he was mocking her, or if he really didn't know why"

"It'd be a waste of chakra. Genjutsu is only effective if the victim doesn't realize that they're in one. You know my genjutsu and your teammate is a gifted genjutsu specialist. Therefore, it wouldn't make any sense to use it here."

Lucien snickered. "Very impressive. You know you and I are far more alike than you realize you know."

"I'm nothing like you!!" Sakura got up. Her legs were weary and her body was sore, but she knew she had to continue this fight. She had trained far too long to have everything come down on her now. She had to keep fighting and fighting until this guy would just back off her.

Lucien gazed at Sakura. He was surprised that she still had the strength to get back up after that last attack. It seemed that he still had to push her a bit more before he could get the results he was looking for.

Sakura took out three kunai. "I'll admit, you're just as powerful as I thought you were. But, I'm not the weak little girl I was three years ago either. I know your secret. Phasing through objects takes a lot of energy. Not only that, but phasing though a moving projectile also sakes more energy than that of a moving one."

Sakura threw all her kunai at angles. One of them went at an arc right above Lucien's head, while the other two came at 45 degree angles from the side. Lucien charged straight ahead, but Sakura countered with another kunai. Lucien phased through it, and passed to the side when he realized what Sakura had done. Through control that he had never seen before, Sakura was controlling four kunai through ninja wires independently. Those kunai were now in motion, creating a semi-sphere above Lucien's head.

Lucien had little time to ponder an escape route when one of the kunai shot at his back and he was forced to dodge. When he did, a second one came from the side and scratched his abdomen. Lucien widened his eyes when he realized that he had just about reached his phasing limit. He didn't have complete control of his powers anymore. Not only that, but there was a high probability that the kunai were laced with a low level toxin. It wasn't anything serious, but he could feel some of his body control begin to slip. Sakura kept firing her kunai, and Lucien kept evading. He didn't want to, but he could only think of one way out. He channeled his chakra, put his fingers in front of his face, and used a jutsu that was perfect for these conditions. "Water style, water clone jutsu."

At that moment, two clones of himself came out from the water in the rain and stood in the center of the sphere. Then, all three of them charged to opposite ends of the sphere. Sakura sent wasn't fooled and sent all of her kunai after the real Lucien. Lucien had no chance and the kunai pierced through his chest. Sakura thought she had won the battle, but then Lucien started to leak water instead of blood. Sakura turned around and walked right into a kick from Lucien.

"I underestimated you." Lucien was covered in mud and panting hard. The fight had pushed him much farther than he was willing to go. He looked back and only saw one kunai and ninja wire. "Nicely done. A very elaborate genjutsu which made it look as if you were using more kunai. What's even more impressive is how well you made the illusions. They felt like real kunai. Your genjutsu entered my mind and made me perceive the hits from the kunai as real. Almost any other ninja would have certainly died."

Sakura lay in the mud on one knee. She kept trying to force herself up, but couldn't. Shortly, Sasame dropped down from the trees and wrapped her in some strange sort of wire.

"Don't try getting out of that. It's my clan's special jutsu and escape is impossible."

"What do you want with me? Sasuke-kun?"

Lucien laughed. "No, he's not our target. Not even close. Now, just watch." Sakura couldn't stand anything about this guy. From his tone it seemed like he was mocking her. Sasuke was the son of the Hokage, and would be the likely choice for capture. Even if he wasn't their goal, Lucien shouldn't be mocking Sakura for thinking that.

"Watch? What is it you want bastard!?"

"I'm going to grant your wish. You want to know how Sasuke feels about you right? Well, you are going to see just how much he cares for you. However, I don't know whether to call you lucky, or unlucky."

Sakura had no idea what he was planning, but in the pit of her stomach she didn't like it. She thought that they were going to use her as bait and use her to kill Sasuke. Sakura tried everything to get away, but she couldn't escape.

…

Sasuke just unleashed a kick to the front of the female Hyuuga knocking her into a tree. Just as he was about to deal the final blow, he was interrupted by clapping. Sasuke took a Kunai to Hinata's neck and spun around to see Lucien drop into the clearing with a kunai at Sakura's neck.

"Well done. I didn't think you could beat Hinata in these conditions. As the son of the Hokage, you should be proud."

"What do you want bastard?"

"Now now Sasuke. Don't be like that. After all, I have a companion of yours. Let's not do anything rash."

Sasuke growled. It seemed that every word Lucien spoke was meant to be a dig at him. "So, what? Do you want to exchange hostages?"

"Exchange? I think you get the wrong idea. Look in the trees behind you carefully."

Sasuke turned his head slightly to the left. He didn't want to take a single eye off Lucien. He knew how crafty the other shinobi was and would not fall for one of his mind games. He could tell in the first and second glace that he was surrounded. Three chakra signatures were in the trees and they were all hostile.

"I think you understand your situation, but in case you don't I'll explain. It's four on one. We subdued both of your allies. Furthermore, each of the shinobi around you are very powerful members of their squads. Defeating all of us is impossible. Release Hinata now or you die."

Sasuke growled again. His fight with the Hyuuga had taken a lot of energy out of him. Furthermore, all the ninja surrounding him looked fresh, as if they hadn't fought yet. Sasuke cursed his teammates for being so worthless. Reluctantly, he removed his kunai from Hinata's neck and allowed her to go back to his friends.

"Smart Sasuke. Now, let's begin the negotiation on her release shall we? Here are your options. Option one, you give us yourself. In exchange, we give you both Sakura and your dog friend. Option two, you give us nothing, and we take Sakura on our merry way. Or you can select option three. I'm tired from my fight as are you. I'll give you a free shot at me. I won't dodge, or even try to evade the attack. However, if you try to kill me well ..." Lucien pulled back on Sakura's hair and Sakura groaned in pain.

"Please Sasuke-kun. Save me!" Tears ran down Sakura's neck as she pleaded for her love to spare her life.

"Hmph, you made my decision very easy." Sasuke ran through a lot of hand seals and clapped his hands together at the end. "Ninja Art, Burning Arm" At that moment, Sasuke's arm became covered by a black flame. He charged at Lucien at his fastest speed and ran his arm right through Lucien and Sakura. Sasuke smirked to himself at his work, but something seemed off. Lucien didn't feel like blood. He felt like water. Sasuke looked up and what he saw was both Lucien and Sakura dissolve into nothing more than a puddle. Sasuke roared. He knew that was too easy. "WHERE ARE YOU BASTARD!!"

"Sasuke shut up." Lucien appeared again on a tree branch. "What do you suppose would have happened if that had been the real Saukra?"

"Why do you assume I care? Don't you get it? Sakura is nothing but a hindrance. I couldn't go on any mission for the last three years all because she couldn't keep her damn legs together. Do you honestly think I'd care for someone like that? She is nothing but a traitor, and all traitors die. She wouldn't even be worth dirtying my hands over. Fact is, if Sakura or Kiba died, it wouldn't matter because I can always get another team to hunt you down. I don't care what you do with that piece of garbage. Maybe you should throw her in a brothel where she deserves to go!!""

Sakura was brought into the clearing by another of Lucien's water clones. She had heard everything; it was hard not to. Her legs buckled beneath her and she felt as if her entire world had just been broken apart. Sasuke knew for a fact that Lucien just got the reaction he was looking for. Lucien played him for a fool for the second time. It was as if it was Lucien's goal to try and play Sasuke like a fool every time they met, and Sasuke wouldn't let Lucien escape again.

Sauke jumped into the trees at Lucien, but he was attacked by numerous sharp objects. He dodged them all, but was then attacked by several strands of ninja wire. Again he was able to evade, but a gentle fist attack aimed at his back took him out. Behind him was a Hyuuga girl and she was mad. She looked up at Lucien, but he just shook his head.

"No. I don't take any unnecessary lives, even if they are like him. We taught him a lesson today. Let's hope he doesn't forget it. Sasame, tie him up, and then untie his friend. After that, we'll take Sakura back to our village."

Lucien turned around to look at Sakura. It looked like all the life had been drained from her face. The only thing that could keep anyone from seeing how badly she had been crying was the rain.

Lucien went over to Sakura and lifted her face so that she could see him. He then bowed his head to her. "I'm sorry. If I heard something like that from Tayuya, I'd probably feel like you do now. I hope that someday, you can forgive me of this Sakura."

…

Okay, another long overdue chapter in the books. I'm not going to make any promises about my next one. I hope it will come soon though.

Again, I'm not bashing here. It's merely the way Sasuke was brought up. He was spoiled for his whole life and that is why he is a lot different than normal. (Maybe not so different. But you get my point.)

Thank you for reading Tanebi

Next chapter: Reunion

Please read and review.


	19. Reunion

Tanebi

Chapter 19: Reunion

Alright guys, another chapter down. This one was shorter and I really feel that I'm starting to get back in a rhythm. Now here starts the part of the story where the present starts and the real story and conflict can start. Thanks to all those who have been with me to this point and now let's get on with the show.

...

Sakura faced her enemy, a young gennin who just failed the academy. The boy's legs underneath him quaked from the constant pressure of facing such a strong enemy. Up on the balcony, a man whose face was surrounded in bandages nodded down to her signaling that the fight was to begin.

Sakura wasted little time. She launched an array of pink petals at her enemy and he didn't last long against the barrage. Sakura only aimed at his arms and legs. She did a lot of damage to him, but she left all his vitals in perfect order. She couldn't bring herself to kill him.

"Sakura, finish him!"

Sakura winced. She knew what would happen to her if she failed to kill him, but in the end she just couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to become one of the other ninjas that she saw.

"You disappoint me again. Alenia, do with her what you wish. Just make sure that knows what happens to us when we don't kill."

"At your request." A woman with short red hair spoke from next to the man. Sakura backed away from the boy and cried.

….

Sakura awoke in a cold sweat in a dark room. Her breathing rate quickened and her heartbeat soared off the charts. Looking around, she couldn't tell where she was. Quickly, her thoughts raced through her head as she tried to remember everything that happened. It didn't take her long to realize just where she was. Everything from the previous day felt like a nightmare, a nightmare that made her last dream feel pleasant. Suddenly, she felt a strong arm on her shoulder.

"Easy Sakura. Sheesh, it's not like we're going to hurt you."

It was a voice Sakura thought she'd never hear again. A voice that Sakura thought had been lost forever three years ago. As Sakura looked over to her left, she saw red markings under the eyes of her caretaker. It was the closest thing Sakura had to a sister, Hana Inuzuka.

Sakura remembered the previous night, how when Lucien and his group appeared to be surrounded, Hana and another kunoichi came to the rescue. Sakura's relief at seeing Hana alive quickly turned to anger at a woman who willingly betrayed her home.

"How could you?" Underneath her blanket, Sakura's fists shook with rage and her eyes started to water. "How could you betray the village? Do you have ANY idea how much pain you caused? Do you even realize what you put your brother and everyone from the clan through?"

"Quiet." Hana was calm and composed which surprised Sakura. Like Kiba, Hana was a woman quick on the trigger, and after an outburst like that, Sakura would be lucky to still be breathing. "Sakura, you have no idea what happened to me, so don't judge me."

"What? What could possibly happen to you that would make you quit on everyone you care about?"

"How about everyone you care about setting you up to die?" Hana took her arm off Sakura and put it in her lap. Both of her hands grabbed at her pants and she bowed her head

"What do you mean? What happened?" Sakura's anger subsided and her arms stopped shaking.

"I guess I have to tell you what happened from the beginning. When I was a young pup my father died. After that, my mother changed. You see, she used to be a strong woman, but after dad died, she became docile. She was like a dog after being whipped. After Kiba returned from the Chunin exam, my mother told me that the only way for our clan to redeem ourselves in the eyes of the Uchiha was for a political marriage between myself and Sasuke."

A dark cloud appeared above Sakura's head at the mention of Sasuke. The words from last night were fresh in her memory.

"I talked to my mother to ask her to remove it but she said no. As much as I hated it, I had to go to the Hokage himself to see if there was something I could do to get myself out of it. He, told me that there was one way for me to redeem my clan. He told me that the only way out was to assassinate Hinata Hyuuga."

Sakura gasped. Her Hokage told her big sister that she either had to marry Sasuke or kill Hinata. It was no secret that Hana had her fair share of problems with the Uchiha, but this went far and above anything that happened between the two previously.

"I accepted the mission. I didn't want to, but I had no other choice. There was no way that I would allow myself to become the new Uchiha bitch. The Hokage even assigned me two chuunin to help me succeed. They would keep any guards busy while I killed Hinata."

"Things went smoothly at first. I was able to get into the area where Hinata was being held and had a clean shot at Hinata. That's when I was betrayed. The two ninja sent to guard me ambushed me in that corridor."

Sakura covered her open mouth with her hand. It sounded horrible. Her Hokage set her up to die. Even if Hana managed to defeat the chunin, the noise would have alerted some of the guards and then she would certainly be killed. The only questions were why would the hokage do this, and how is she still alive.

"The two guards weren't chunin as I was told, but elite ANBU. In the ambush, I had no chance, but then things got complicated. My old friend came to the rescue and killed the ANBU. He would have killed me too, but then he recognized these." Hana pointed to the markings below her eyes. "Anyway, we talked and he offered me a position in the village. I refused at first, but he convinced me to go along with him. He said that the Hokage wanted me dead. He also told me that the Hokage only thought of our clan as hindrances and would only be of use to him if we lived in complete servitude to him."

Sakura wanted to refute Hana, but she couldn't. Looking back on her entire life and the way Sasuke treated Kiba, and the way that Hana would always talk about the Uchiha made sense to her. Before, even knowing this she would feel compelled to argue with Hana as she usually did, but this time she couldn't find it in herself to do so.

Hana softened her face and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Taicho told me everything that happened. I'm really sorry. Nobody should have gone through what you did last night. When I see that bastard next time, I'll fix him." Hana cracked her knuckles and punched a hole in the wall.

"Damn it Hana! I told you to look after Pinky, not destroy this entire damn place!"

Sakura recognized that rage and was dreading the next person to walk through that door. When it opened, a young redhead walked through the door, but that wasn't what surprised her the most.

…

"I see, so that's the situation then." Opposite of the Hokage sat a man who had half of his face hidden by bandages. He seemed to be an elderly man, and he needed a crutch to walk.

"Yes, with Sakura in their hands, it's clear that they know just who she is." Fugaku folded his hands in front of his face. He was tempted to activate his sharingan. The man across from him was a difficult man to read, even though he knew that the other man was on his side.

"I say leave her," the other man said. His stone voice voiced strongly how he felt on the matter. "If I could not control her, Tanebi cannot either. Let her memory and powers awaken. She'll destroy the enemy village by herself."

The Hokage chuckled, "I highly doubt she has that much power Danzou. You saw yourself how strong she was three years ago."

"Yes I did, and that scares me."

"How so?"

Danzou paused. What he was going to say in the next couple of moments would unveil that he was not entirely telling the truth. "Three years ago, for a brief moment her memories awakened. And with it, came her power."

"That makes no sense. You said we needed to seal up her memories for fear of her inner persona. You also said that her powers were inconsistent and she could not call upon them at her beckoning. Are you saying that you lied to me!"

"It was necessary Hokage-sama." Even amidst allegations like that from the most powerful man of the village, Danzou remained completely calm. "It was my hope that by sealing her powers, she would die before ever marrying Sasuke, and thus would save you."

"You haven't explained anything Danzou!" Fugaku pounded his hands on his desk and activated his sharingan.

"Please calm down Hokage-sama. As I was about to say, I hid the information from you for a good reason. I was afraid that if you knew what I know, you may have not sealed her memories at all, and put her into your forces. As I said before, she cannot be controlled by anyone. She would slaughter the enemy, and then slaughter us. Believe me Hokage-sama, I was in no way trying to use her for my own ambition. The others before you were much to soft, but you are not. You crushed every enemy in your path and rule the village with an iron hand."

Fugaku seemed to calm down visibly after that. He relaxed his arms and deactivated his sharingan. "As much as I don't like it you have made a point. However, I need to see this power for myself now. I want her back. If her power is as great as you say it is, it would be a welcome addition to my bloodline."

"Given the circumstances as they are, I highly doubt that she'd welcome Sasuke back with open arms. Plus, Tanebi isn't exactly easy to get to. I've uncovered very little about them from my agents. Their intelligence is top notch."

Fugaku leaned back in his chair. "About the first point, any damage she's taken from our genjutsu we can always just replace. About the second point, I want you to step up your investigation. Consider it repayment for lying to me."

"As you wish Hokage-sama. However, I would still advise you against this course of action. I said it before and I'll say it again, that girl cannot be controlled." With that Danzou got up and left.

"You say she can't be controlled? If her power is so great, then maybe I can use her to get what I couldn't fifteen years ago; the 9-tailed fox."

…

Sakura sat back in shock as Tayuya entered the room. It wasn't that she was shocked to see her, but there was something blatantly obvious about her that was much different than the last time she saw the redhead. Hana sat back in her chair with a smirk on her face. She could tell that Sakura was floored with Tayuya's appearance. The room felt like a ninja tag ready to explode and Hana could only sit back and smile knowing that Tayuya's wrath would be taken off her for a moment.

"T-tayuya. You look … very … nice." Sakura tapped her index fingers together sheepishly while Hana had to cover her mouth. She was about ready to laugh as she knew that the volcano that was Tayuya's temper was about to erupt. Her face matched her hair color.

"DAMN IT PINKY! I DON'T LOOK FUCKING NICE! I WEIGH 8000 POUNDS AND HAVE A FUCKING CHILD INSIDE MY STOMACH! DON'T BULLSHIT ME IN SAYING I LOOK NICE!"

Under normal circumstances Sakura would have yelled back, but then she realized who she was talking to. She didn't know the other girl for long, but she knew that she had a temper. The one she should have gotten mad at was Hana who at this point looked to be in a battle of restraint with herself.

Tayuya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew that it wasn't good for her to blow up on people like that, but based on what she heard from anonymous sources that would be better off not naming, her mother was the same way. "Now, is there something else that you want to say to me?"

Sakura had no idea what to say. Tayuya was always a tough read, and she doubted that would change so soon. She looked over to Hana for help but Hana only gave her a wink. Seeing no help from her surrogate older sister, she decided to wing it.

"Sorry. I was just surprised. I mean it's tough to imagine a girl barely older than me having a child, even if we are ninja."

Tayuya just stood there. She crossed her arms over her chest and began to repeatedly tap her foot on the ground. It was obvious that she was not satisfied with the greeting Sakura gave her. Sakura bent her head down and tried again to think of a proper greeting.

"Tayuya it's been so long! I missed you so much!" Sakura went to get up from her bed, but Tayuya just held her arm out telling Sakura to stay put.

"Better." Tayuya relaxed and then went to go sit down. She pulled a chair up and eased herself into it.

"Need some help?"

"I'm perfectly capable of sitting down Pinky. The only hard part is getting up. Now, I'm guessing you have a few questions right?"

Sakura was surprised. For a few moments she had forgotten all about her kidnapping. Being around the older girl can do that to a person.

"Where are we?"

"Damn Pinky, I thought you were smart. Isn't it obvious where we are? You are right now in the middle of the Tanebi mannor. It's a first class mannor and sleeping quarters for the leader of Tanebi, her children, advisers, and other VIPs."

Sakura was surprised. Taking a POW to the main sleeping quarters of your government was not a common practice. In Konoha, she would have been thrown in an ANBU cell and heavily interrogated. Here, they were treating her like the heirs to the throne.

"When will I be interrogated?"

"Interrogated? Not for you Pinky. You see, I think I've fallen in love with you."

Sakura widened her eyes and sat up straight. Meanwhile Hana and Tayuya began to laugh hard.

"Holy shit Pinky, you actually believed me for a second didn't you? Aren't you forgetting the painfully obvious?" Sakura felt stupid and mad at the same time. She knew that Tayuya was just pressing her buttons, and unfortunately for her, Tayuya knew which ones to press. "Joking aside, you won't need to go to interrogation or a holding cell."

"Don't mock me! Who do you think I am anyway? I'm a proud kunoichi of Konoha and don't appreciate you taking me for an idiot!"

Tayuya smirked. "Well well, looks like you still have your bark. Good thing that son of a bitch Sasuke didn't take that from you."

Sakura still felt mad, but now she felt confused as well. She didn't know much about the older redhead, but she could tell that she wasn't a person who would lie about something like this. Unfortunately for her though she couldn't understand anything. She felt as if she were a little child whose parents kept talking above her.

"I take exception to that." Hana said.

"You would, and speaking of those SOB's, you know who just got back." Tayuya added with a wink at the end.

"What? He told me he was going to be gone for another two weeks."

"Well he's back so get off your ass and go!"

"But what about ..." Hana trailed off and looked at Sakura. She was especially worried about her.

"Don't worry. I'm ready to take her to meet Baa-san soon enough," Tayuya added with a smirk.

"Which one, the one who pretends to dislike being called that or the one actually who hates it." Hana added a smirk of her own.

"The one who hates it."

Sakura had no idea who they were talking about, but this Baa-san person sounded like someone she did not want to get angry. She closed her eyes and bowed her head and wished that someone could get her out of this mess. _Naruto, please help me._ Sakura thought as a tear began to roll down her cheek.

…

Kushina sighed as she flipped the last page of a detailed report. She hated reading the reports Lucien gave her. They were often too detailed and contained far too much boring knowledge for her to trudge through. They also had a tendency to use language that she herself hardly knew. Kushina was a very smart woman but the langauage that Lucien wrote his reports in was far too complicated. She even tried using a Kage-bunshin to read them, but they knew what was coming and destroyed themselves before that happened. This one however was much more concise than the others. Right on cue, the writer of the report just arrived in her office.

"You called for me?" Lucien asked as he bowed his head in respect to his mother in law.

"We have much to discuss about this." Kushina dropped the thick scroll on the table causing an audible thump to be heard throughout the room.

"If I may ask you a question Kushina-sama?"

"We've had this discussion before Lucien. I have no problems with the title, but when it's just the two of us, it's kaa-san got it?"

Lucien knew from experience that it wasn't wise to argue. Tayuya and Naruto got their tempers from their mother.

"When you sent us out for the mission, did you know everything?"

Kushina sighed. "Much of it I suspected, but I had hoped that it was just my general distaste for the Uchiha. I didn't wish for any of it to be true. It's my regret that I wasn't there for her like I should have."

"Yes, but there wasn't anything you could have done about it. I may not have been around, but I know for a fact that you had other matters concerning you. Had you not done what you did, Tayuya could have served that bastard, I would be dead, and Lacus would have never been conceived."

"No, I could have done all that and saved her. If I was thinking clearly I would have, but I was so caught up in my intentions for revenge that Sakura never crossed my mind once."

"Even so, you have the chance to make all that right now do you not?"

Kushina said nothing. She picked the scroll back up and tapped her index finger a few times on the scroll. She had a question on the tip of her tongue that she was afraid to ask. It wasn't that she was afraid of how he'd react, but Kushina was afraid to find out the answer herself.

"Lucien, did you leave something out on purpose?"

Lucien didn't respond. He tucked his head to the side and looked at Kushina with a questioning glance.

"Looking over this again, it's not nearly as detailed as your previous reports. Also, it contains a lot less of your input on what the significance of the most ridiculous details."

"So you _do _read my reports to completion. Naruto owes me 60 ryo.."

"DON'T LIKE CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Kuchina took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. She had to be careful. When Lucien had information that he didn't want others to know, he had a way of sidetracking people. The last time he tried that was when he was trying to distract Kushina away from Tayuya's pregnancy when they first found out.

"What I'm saying is that I think you're hiding something from me. What is it?"

"Okay, I'll tell you. However, first," Lucien took out a kunai and aimed it at a picture on the wall and it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Let's remove Naruto's presence from the room." Kushina looked at Lucien in awe.

"How did you know he was there? Not even I could find him."

"I was looking for him specifically. Naruto used a kage bunshin which contained so small of chakra that it was almost completely eclipsed by our combined chakra. I looked around the room for any details that would hint at Naruto moving something and using your bloodline to hide himself. When I saw that the picture was 5 degrees off it's usual angle I suspected something and put all my senses on that picture. Sure enough, when focused solely on that spot I could detect faint traces of chakra." Even after hearing the explanation, Kushina was stunned and angered at the same time.

"Don't worry Kaa-sama, Naruto has never done something like this before. He is worried that I am hiding intelligence from him. I am, but I am for his own good."

"Yes, my son has been restless ever since he got back. I sent him out of the village on mission the last few days. Hopefully, time away from here will calm him down. Lucien, I have no time for games. What are you hiding?"

"As you suspected, Sakura is your Goddaughter. Yuri was her mother. You also suspected something suspicious about her and that is the other reason why you sent us. After we left the facility, I had Sasame arrange a contact with an important spy in Konoha. That informant gave us a very suspicious scroll that only you, me, and Sasame know about." Lucien pulled a scroll from under his cloak and presented it to Kushina. Looking over it carefully, Kushina spotted an unusual symbol on the front.

"It's a high level seal, very high. And this symbol here is the symbol of ROOT. What is ROOT doing with Sakura?"

"It's safe to say that ROOT were the people handling Sakura's development. The scroll from the facility was the work on recreating the other Sakura, but after her birth I think that the Hokage had other things on his mind and let ROOT take over in creating Sakura as a human weapon. However it is my theory that ROOT was behind some terrible experiences. The Genjutsu that Karin discovered around her cortex confirms that they are using it to block memories and replace them as we were told, but ..."

At that moment Tayuya and Sakura came bursting through the door. Immediately Lucien looked over to Tayuya's stomach and smiled. He always did when thinking of having a child with the woman he loved.

Sakura took time to look around the room. It reminded her a lot of the way the Hokage kept his office. The floor layout and even the locations of bookcases, desk placement, and even chairs were kept the same way that they were in Konoha. However, the biggest difference was that the Konoha symbol was replaced by the volcano emblem of Tanebi, further proof that Sakura was far away from home, dragged away by some silver-haired tornado.

The second thing she noticed was Lucien. The very sight of him made her forget all feelings of uneasiness and replaced them all with rage.. He knew all along that Sasuke cared nothing for her, but the way he trapped Sasuke into a corner and enraged him to the point where he revealed his true feelings about her made her feel stupid.

Behind the desk was a woman that Sakura clearly recognized. It was Tayuya's mother and the leader of Tanebi. Now that Tayuya had matured physically, it was easy to see that she looked like a younger version of her mother.

Sakura gulped. Usually when prisoners were taken straight to the Hokage it meant that harsh punishment was on the way.

"Relax Sakura, I've been expecting you. Take a seat."

Kushina spoke in a very gentle and calm way. Any comparisons that she held between Kushina and Tayuya had to have stopped at just looks. It seemed to her that Tayuya got her temper from her father and Naruto took after his mother.

Sakura sat down at the chair right in front of Kushina while Tayuya took a seat near the back letting out a small grunt as she did. Lucien moved over to help her, but Tayuya held her hand out to him and slanted her eyes.

"Damn Baa-chan, these chairs are hard. Ever think of making them softer?"

Sakura shouldn't have been surprised with the way that Tayuya spoke to her mother, but she just assumed that that's how she spoke to everyone. She guessed that Tayuya was just an instigator, but that the people that she loved to tease the most were the ones she loved. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Lucien taking a step backwards trying to blend into the wall as best he could.

"First of all Tay, you are only seven months pregnant. I'm not a grandmother yet. Second of all, if you call me that again, I'll go to your room, cut your legs off, set your room on fire, and watch as you drag your bloody stump of a body out the door. Got it?"

Sakura was surprised. Normally if she said something like that to her mother it would just result in either playful taunting or a smack. Kushina actually sounded serious about the threat. Sakura knew that Kushina wouldn't ever carry it out, but still, her dry tone scared her. Maybe the comparisons didn't stop at just looks.

"Kushina-sama if I may ..."

"LIKE WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY TO YOU ABOUT THE SAMA BULLSHIT!" Kushina screamed over to Lucien as she jumped out of her chair and punched Lucien in the stomach.

"Phew, now that that's taken care of, let's talk." Kushina put a smile back on her face and walked

back to her seat. Tayuya for her part didn't get up but she shook her head at her husbands actions. "I assume that you have some questions for us correct? Feel free to ask and I will answer what I feel that I can at the moment."

"What you can? What does that mean?"

"As much as we have found out about you, it seems that every answer we stumble across leads us to another question about you." Kushina said.

Sakura was confused. She knew herself better than anyone else, and she knew that she wasn't all that complicated. Sure she had a few questions about herself, but how many girls her age didn't.

"Why me? _He _had a perfect chance to take Sasuke-kun and Kiba. Both of them are from far more prestigious clans than my own. Hell, I don't even have a clan."

"Sakura there is a lot more to you than you realize. We believe that your memories have been … somewhat altered."

"Altered? What do you mean altered?"

"One of my colleagues and friends Karin, discovered an unusual type of chakra surrounding your brain. Generally, this is usually linked to a kind of genjutsu. However, this one in particular is much stronger and acts as more of a seal. More specifically, it's sealing your memories. That seal also is giving you several false memories possibly dating back to your very birth." Lucien said. "For the past year I have had scouts in Konoha monitor you and look through any matters concerning you. However, every piece of information appears to be altered in some way."

Lucien then removed a small scroll from his pocket and handed it to Sakura. It was her official transcript from her ninja file. She didn't need to look hard for the places where Lucien noticed some differences between fact and fiction. She also saw a comparison of her teammates where they were much more specific as far as abilities, and temperament.

"Obviously, Konoha wanted all potential clients to look over you. That's why they put you with the Hokage's son and an Inuzuka. They figured that with such a potentially great team, it would be foolish to deny any team despite a complete unknown so long as it was allied to them. That alone shows how valuable you are."

"More lies. You speak so smoothly it's no wonder you were able to deceive Sasuke and Kiba. I however will not fall for your petty tricks."

"What purpose would I have in lying to you? You are in our hands safely. Lying to you would accomplish nothing at this point."

"Ha, don't make me laugh! Isn't it obvious what you're doing? Show me kindness so that I'll join your side in this war and reveal crucial weak points in Konoha's defense. By making them out to be the bad guys in this will only help in making me talk faster."

"Sakura, your information would tell us nothing. My team annihilated an ANBU base by ourselves, infiltrated the very top of Konoha's command, and hijacked files from the Hokage himself. Nothing a _gennin _has could tell us what we don't already know."

"Am I really useless?" Sakura was downcast. All her life she had been seen as the weak link. Even now that she's kidnapped, her information means nothing to her captors. She wasn't even worth questioning.

"Not at all. If you were useless, I would have killed you or just left you alone. I don't bother with people who are useless. I'm a busy man with a child on the way. For me to go out personally and take you myself shows how much we value you."

"I hate you." Even though he was trying to calm her down and reassure her, Lucien was far too blunt for her liking. He never changed his tone at all or changed the look in his eyes. He was everything Sakura hated.

"Easy both of you! Lucien, dismissed." Lucien left the room quickly. He knew that when Kushina told him to leave, it's best done without any argument. Sakura glared at his face the entire time he left the office, and even when he left, she glared at the door.

Tayuya felt uncomfortable. She wanted to be with Lucien right now, but figured it would be best to leave him alone for the time being. She knew he'd be fine. He was a guy who didn't care what anybody felt about him except for those he kept close. Still, she found it rough to be friends with someone who said "I hate you" to the most important person in her life.

"I'm sorry Sakura, he's … not the most sociable. He's the exact opposite of my son. Where as my son speaks based on his heart and emotions, Lucien speaks what's on his mind. He believes only in facts and only confides his emotions to the very few in his life."

Sakura looked at Tayuya when after Kushina's words. She didn't look like her usual trouble making self. For the first time since knowing the girl, Tayuya looked a bit sad.

"**You hate him? Why?"**

Sakura looked around. She knew she heard a voice, but it sounded nothing like Kushina or Tayuya. This voice sounded familiar but she had no idea where.

"**He's cute, cold, thinks he's better than everyone else for no reason. Doesn't he remind you of someone else in your life?"**

All of a sudden Sakura's head started aching. The room around her began to spin around her and around her until there was was just a big blur in her eyes. With nothing else in sight, Sakura passed out.

…

Okay a lot happened here and that's good. I expected Naruto to appear here but that's not going to happen. He will appear next chapter for sure.

Before anyone asks, yes from the beginning I had the Tayuya thing planned.

That should cover it.

Thanks for reading Tanebi

Next Chapter: Inner danger

Please review.


	20. Mental Instability

Tanebi

Chapter 20 Mental Instability

My writing is getting along faster and I'm glad to be finally getting in the hang of things again. Thanks for all of those who have kept with me for this time. Catsi as always, helped a ton on this chapter. Alright, let's get on with the story.

...

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER? YOU TOLD ME SHE'D BE SAFE!" Naruto roared at Lucien. He and Lucien were both outside a room in the mansion, while Karin checked over Sakura's head. They already had Shizune look at Sakura, but she couldn't find anything wrong.

"I did nothing. Naruto, the Uchiha did some things to her that are so sick and twisted, I can't even believe it. Her mind has gone through so many genjutsu's that her complete memory is a total wreck. In all honesty, I had no idea it was this bad."

"What are you talking about! You and I both saw what they did!" Naruto continued screaming and his eyes changed from a gentle blue to a fierce crimson. Coming back from his mission, he had not expected Sakura in this state. Streaks lined his face from where rage and sadness formed tears.

"You're wrong. What we destroyed was where she was born, not where she was raised as you thought. She stayed at that facility until she was 2, then brought somewhere else except for when the Hokage came to check on her progress."

"Another thing you've hidden," Naruto accused.

"All for your own good. Kyuubi draws strength from your emotions, and it's getting easier for him to manipulate your feelings ever since you met her. If you discovered this information in Konoha, and not here where we can keep an eye on his influence, you may fall into an Uchiha trap. You and I both know what they did to your parents and we know that they won't stop until they get the power they seek. With Sakura in our hands, they may come after you again."

"If they do, I'll kill them." Naruto spoke with conviction. He hated what the Uchiha did and would never forgive Fugaku for trapping his mother, and forcing his father to sacrifice his life.

Lucien took a step back. Naruto never threatened to kill unless he was really mad. Lucien knew that his next couple of words would need to be used carefully. "No doubt you have the power, but you may not have the cards. The Uchiha aren't stupid. They won't come out in front of you and provoke you. They want a trump card and will use any card they can. Shion, Koyuki, all of them need constant monitoring in case the Uchiha wish to use one of them as a hostage. They can and will use your passion for friends as a weakness to get what they desire."

"In case you both haven't noticed, I have a patient here so shut up the both of you." At the door stood a tall and slender woman with long red hair and glasses. Her long white overcoat and shoes made it difficult to tell if she could actually fight.

"So, how is she?" Naruto asked eagerly, hoping for good news from the other girl.

Karin picked up a piece of paper and quickly drew a small picture of a brain. She then colored a small section of it pink and over the top of it colored a section deep purple. In the purple section she drew multiple cracks. Under the pink, she shaded it blue. "Now Naruto-kun, a cutie like yourself shouldn't think too much so I drew it out for you. This pink area is Sakura's chakra as you know her. Her memories, emotions, whatever, are here."

"Pink is good? Right?" Naruto was confused. He had heard the explanation before, but in all this commotion he wasn't thinking clearly.

"Yes Naruto-kun pink is very good. In more ways then one I might add. In fact ..." Karin leaned forward to Naruto and licked her lips seductively.

"Get on with it please." Lucien was never patient when Karin tried to flirt with Naruto. He knew she did it to rattle him, but it seemed pointless without Tayuya there. Naruto blushed at where Karin was going with her explanation.

"Party pooper. Anyway, a person's color is usually their affinity. In this case pink is an offshoot of red but very light. Teal is blue and so on. The shade is generally where their chakra comes from. The more positive emotions, the lighter the color. Naruto-kun, you are a pale green in this case, where as taicho is a pure blue. However, Kyuubi is crimson as the intent of the chakra is malicious."

"Uh yeah. So, what's this other stuff then?" Naruto still didn't get it and it was hopeless to try.

"This purple is another chakra. I have no idea who's though. This particular shade doesn't match anyone I've found in my life, not even the Hokage. Generally a pattern like this signifies a type of genjutsu. However, it runs really deep as you can see. Some layers are different colors, but these clearly match those of the Hokage. The cracks though signify where Sakura is slowly breaking the genjutsu on her own."

"So what would happen in we broke those ourselves?" Naruto asked.

Karin pressed her glasses higher onto her face. "If that happened, all her memories would clash at once, causing the brain to completely shut down forcing her into a vegetative state." Naruto gasped. He tended to drift off when Tsunade taught him medical stuff, but he knew enough that vegetative state wasn't good. "However, should she begin to break the chains herself slowly, her brain would be able to decipher fact from fiction."

"And the only way to do that was to shatter Sakura's perception of reality, which was based primarily on Sasuke. When Sasuke shouted the way he did, Sakura could tell that something was off and began to dismantle the chains one-by-one. Of course I didn't know how bad the situation really was, but my sources informed me this was the only way." Lucien finished.

Naruto looked downcast. He felt horrible for doubting his brother, but at the same time felt bad for Sakura. "What if she stayed the way she was?"

"She'd probably be killed as soon as she gave birth to two healthy girls. One to pass the bloodline along, the other in case something happened to the first. We all know that bloodlines can only be passed on through the female Naruto."

Naruto wanted to yell. All three options sounded horrible. It seemed to him that however bad what Lucien's plan amounted to, it was still the best choice available. He also knew that Lucien was the only person who could have actually gone through with the plan knowing the risks. Still though, something bothered him. He looked closer at the light blue underneath the layered purple. He wondered just what that was.

"What a brilliant eye you have Naruto-kun. You already know the next part. This blue down here is different. It's a part of Sakura's chakra system but behaves a lot differently, kind of like Kyuubi, but not so evil. My theory is that as this seal here cracks, small amounts of this large body here travel through the seal and into her chakra system giving her immense power for a short period of time."

"Immense power? The Chunin Exams!" Naruto shouted.

"Yes that sounds a lot like what happened a few hours earlier too. Maybe Sakura lost consciousness because this blue chakra overloaded her chakra stream causing a semi conscious body made of past memories to appear." Lucien finished.

"English please."

"In other words, like Kyuubi, the nature of the chakra was able to take over for a few moments. Whatever kind of personality Sakura had when she was little, came out just now. I'm guessing that Sakura has no memory of attacking Kushina-sama."

"My ultimate hypothesis is that when Sakura completely breaks the genjutsu, she will have stores and stores of chakra that only Naruto-kun possesses. But the nature of that chakra, I don't know. For now, our only option is to be a pillar of support for her. Naruto-kun, enter if you wish, but be careful. Sakura is in a fragile state right now. Who knows what anything might cause?"

Naruto nodded and went into the room. Karin sighed.

"You see it don't you?" Lucien asked.

"You don't need to remind me. I've known for a long time that he didn't feel for me as I did him. I just hope that he's happy with his choice."

Lucien leaned against a wall. "Hana once told me that two dogs pick their mate not upon first sight, but upon first scent. You may not realize it, but that scent will always lead you on a path straight to that person. Those two further reinforce that theory. As do you and someone else I know."

"Who? Stop being so damn cryptic and tell me already!" Karin got up in Lucien's face.

"If you have to ask, it's pointless to tell." With that, Lucien poofed out of sight, leaving Karin frustrated at Lucien puzzling words.

"Stupid taicho and his stupid cryptic message. I swear one day I'll shove his damn cryptic messages ..." Karin continued to grumble under her breath as she walked down the hall.

…...

Sakura had another puzzling dream. This dream seemed to be where the last one left off. The woman named Alenia tortured her, by inhumane genjutsu. Although Sakura knew it was a dream, it felt so real. To Sakura, this scene seemed so familiar, but there was no way any of this happened. Yet every time she tried to remember something that happened from her childhood, it would fade as if it were a dream.

_What's happening to me? I can't tell real from fake anymore and I just want it to stop. Naruto, please make it stop. _Sakura began to cry heavy tears. She remembered what Lucien told her. She assumed that all of it was fake, a made up story from a liar and a traitor. Seeing these images and feeling got Sakura thinking that maybe there was some truth in what Lucien said.

"_Sakura ..."_

Sakura looked around, but all she saw was darkness all around her. There was nothing in every direction.

_"Sakura ..."_

"Sakura wake up."

Sakura knew instinctively that someone was over her bedside and threw a fierce right hand at whoever it was that was standing over her. She sat up in her bed and in the corner was Naruto nursing a brand new wound on his forehead.

"Naruto ..." Sakura railed off. Tears spilled from her eyes and her voice began to fade. For her, it seemed that the single appearance of Naruto woke her from her nightmare.

"Sakura you're awake!" Naruto rushed back over to Sakura's bedside. For Sakura, it felt like every part of her body had been used for taijutsu training. She felt weak and drained, but the dizzyness had stopped at least. However, the dizziness left a huge headache in its wake.

"Naruto, I'm glad you're here. For a while … I felt … so" Sakura began to cry as the tears she had been trying to hold back ever since her capture finally spilled out. She got up and ran right into the awaiting arms of Naruto, and he took her into his arms as she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. Neither of them needed to say anything. For those moments the two of them were able to convey all of their emotions, pain, and suffering to each other. After a few minutes Sakura pulled out of his chest and wiped her tears away. She looked into Naruto's entrancing eyes and felt herself begin to get drawn in.

"Aw isn't that sweet? My baby brother/ Naruto-kun is about to get some." Tayuya and Karin said at the same time. Sakura and Naruto immediately broke apart, their faces stuck in crimson. At the door was both Karin and Tayuya and both of them looked highly amused, Tayuya was on the verge of laughter. Sakura didn't know why, but underneath the embarrassment she felt an impending sense of doom.

"When did _you_ two get here?" Naruto growled. He himself was comfortable in the position he was in, and knew that both of the girls at the entrance knew that. He also knew that he would not be able to live it down for a long time.

"We've been here for a good … five ten minutes tops. I wanted to get a camera, but Lucien told us to leave you two alone. Therefore, I went in anyway." Tayuya grinned as she sat down.

"Aside from that, we have a few questions we need to ask Sakura. Nothing too personal, that is until you leave Naruto-kun." Karin gave Naruto another flirtatious look. She didn't know why, but for some reason Sakura really didn't like this new girl. Sakura didn't know who this other girl was, but it was pretty obvious that she was Tayuya's partner in crime. "Sakura would you mind answering a few questions?"

Sakura looked over to Naruto for advice. She had no idea what kind of questions she was going to ask, but she knew that she could trust Naruto with her life. Naruto nodded his head, and that was good enough for Sakura to give this girl a go ahead.

"Thank you. My name is Karin, and I'm a researcher for Tanebi. For official purposes my position here is purely professional and all comments made in this room will remain confidential."

"Did my husband make you say that?" Tayuya wanted to laugh. Karin trying to sound serious was very awkward.

"I know, what a party pooper. Obviously he's not getting enough at home."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean! He's been away for a month and I'm 7 months pregnant." Tayuya shouted back

"Well all _I_ know is that I'd make sure that my husband got laid more than once a month."

"I know. You make sure that no man in Rice Country goes without sex for a month."

"Shut up you whore!"

"Slut!"

"Whore!"

"Slut!"

"WHORE!"

"SLUT!"

"SHUT UP!." Naruto interrupted. He knew that this would go on for a long time if it wasn't stopped and he just wanted the two of them to leave as soon as possible at this point.

Sakura wanted to laugh. She wondered if she and Ino sounded as ridiculous as Karin and Tayuya did right now.

"Right, excuse me." Karin pushed her glasses up her face. "Now, how do you feel right now?"

"A little sore, weak, tired, and I have a headache."

"Hmmm, yeah I can see that your chakra is low right now. It's especially low in your chest which is odd though. Normally in chakra exhaustion cases, the main areas of concern are the limbs as they are the areas that exerted the most chakra. This means that the chakra you exerted came right from your core."

"Chakra I exerted? What are you talking about?"

"I know what you want to do and stop. It won't do any good to lie to her despite what she did. If what I think is right, she wasn't under her own mind when this happened. I know you want to protect her, but in order for her to get better she must understand what is wrong with her." Tayuya whispered into Naruto's ear.

Sakura couldn't hear what was being said. Tayuya was speaking unusually quietly and turning her face so she couldn't read her lips. After Tayuya spoke, Naruto would shake his head and mumble something equally quiet. She could tell by body language though that both of them were completely serious.

"What's going on?"

"Sakura-chan. Do you … remember anything from after Lucien left the office?"

"No. I heard a voice that sounded familiar, and then the room started spinning and I passed out. Didn't I?"

"As we thought. Sakura, let me fill you in on what happened." Tayuya walked over to Sakura's bed and sat down. Because Tayuya was using Sakura's name, she knew that the redhead was serious and was going to drop a bombshell on her.

…

Sakura had a new look about her. Her eyes lost all sense of confusion and innocence, and her lips formed a predatory smile.

"Tayuya, get down!" Kushina yelled as Sakura raised her arms and thousands of small pink petals moved right towards Tayuya. Before they could hit her, Kushina jumped in front of her. She was able to repel the attack, but not without taking damage. Her left arm had multiple gashes and her robes were torn to shreds revealing a battle suit underneath.

"Very good. As I would expect from a leader of a village." Sakura said, her voice even but her lips still stayed in the smile.

"Why attack her? She can't even defend herself!" Kushina yelled.

"I know. I also know that I can't defeat you in a straight one on one fight. Therefore, I had to even the playing field by attacking your daughter. I knew you'd make the save and hurt yourself doing it. Now I can kill you."

"Why? What purpose do you have in killing me? You realize that even if you did, there is no way you'd make it out alive." Kushina held her chest. Her breaths sped up and became she began to feel dizzy and lightheaded from blood loss.

"I don't know. As I said, all I know is how to kill and smile."

"So what if, and by if I mean it like will not happen, but if you make it out, what would you do? Go back to Konoha?"

"Sakura would, I won't. I have no love for that place at all. They are the ones responsible for me not having the ability to distinguish enemy from ally."

"That's like messed up."

"It's what they did. If I ever saw them again, I'm just going to kill more of them."

"Then what?"

Sakura paused. "I don't know. I don't know anything other than killing and smiling. I'm tired of talking to you. Prepare to die." Sakura spoke as she prepared another attack.

…

"What happened after that?" Sakura asked. Her eyes began to water and she had been squeezing Naruto's hand periodically throughout the story, gripping harder during the more violent parts.

"My husband stepped in. Kaa-san didn't want to hurt you, so when you went in for the next attack on my mother, Lucien stepped in and placed a special seal on you. It was a seal usually reserved for ..." Tayuya looked over at Naruto. Tayuya, Lucien, and Karin were the only ones who had that seal for in case Naruto went berserk.

For a while the room remained silent. Sakura found the entire story to be ridiculous. She found it insane that she could actually wound the leader of the village, and she couldn't believe that she attacked a woman who could hardly defend herself. Yet, she knew it was true. Sakura trusted Naruto and she knew that he would never lie to her and would never stand to have anyone lie to her.

"Naruto-kun, could you leave us alone for a few minutes? We just need to ask Sakura a couple of business related questions about this incident." Karin asked.

"Girls only so get the hell out of here." Tayuya said with her hands over her chest.

Naruto looked at Sakura. Her hair was messy and her eyes downcast. She looked at him with tear filled eyes and gave him a nod. He knew what she meant. She told him that while she wants him here by her side, it would be better for him to talk to some other girls. She probably had some personal problems that she did not want discussed in his presence.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of Sakura. Besides, Lucien wants to talk to you anyway." Tayuya said. Naruto looked at Tayuya and her face was angelic and pure. He thought that Tayuya wouldn't try any of her usual stuff in this particular situation. He wanted to assure her that everything was going to be okay, but he knew it wouldn't. Her road was very long and difficult, and he would do anything to ease the suffering. Boldly, he turned to Sakura, wiped a messy strand of hair from her forehead, and gently kissed it.

Sakura's eyes widened. She was expecting a lot of things but that wasn't even close. His actions were so sudden that even Tayuya, who had a snarky comment for everything was silent. Naruto turned back, gave a large grin to Sakura and left.

Watching his smile, Sakura couldn't help but wipe her tears from her face and smile back. Despite everything that's happened to her over the past few days, when he smiled at her, it feels like everything is alright in the world. However it took Sakura a couple of minutes and one look from the evil grins of the twin tornadoes to know that the next few moments of her life were going to be hell.

…

Lucien was in his office. As a member of the intelligence gathering unit, he had his own place in the manor where he was able to sort the information that was gathered. Lucien's position was important as all the information would be sent to him and he would be the one to confirm the intelligence and then compile a report for Kushina. Shikamaru had a similar position as he was directly underneath Lucien. Lately Tayuya had been doing a large part of that but since she was busy at the moment, he didn't mind going back to his old line of work. A knock at the door interrupted his thinking and Naruto walked in.

"How's she doing?"

"Pretty shaken up. It's like the weight of this whole ordeal is closing in at her all at once and there's nothing I can do about it." Naruto looked at the ground.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"What!"

"She attacked your sister, my wife and our unborn child. Are you having second thoughts about standing by her no matter what?"

"She wasn't at fault."

"Oh and who was?"

"It was those ROOT bastards. I swear, I'll kill them for what they did to her."

Lucien got up from his chair, no visible change on his face but inside he was still a bit shocked. Naruto always hated killing. He said that there is nobody who cannot redeem himself, and the fact that he would resort to death so quickly showed the jonin how serious Naruto was at making them pay for their crimes.

"So what if she snaps again? What do you plan on doing when she goes nuts and attacks someone else? Would you stand by her even if she kills my wife and child?"

"She won't go nuts! I don't care what you say, but I promise you that no matter what happens, I will always be there for her! And, I'll make sure that nothing happens to Tayuya either!"

Of all the reactions Naruto expected to see from Lucien, a smile was not one that was high on the list. "Somehow I knew you'd say that. Even so, I'm slightly surprised you did. That's good. She's got some hard times coming up very soon and she'll need you to stand by her mo matter what. Don't worry too much about her going nuts either. I've got three of our best kunoichi on her at all times."

"It's not necessary but thanks." Naruto turned around to leave when Lucien told Naruto to come back. When he turned around Lucien threw a scroll at him.

"It's my report. Everything Haku uncovered and everything that Tayuya and I recovered is here. Most of it I got after I met with Haku in Konoha. She and Tayuya have a lot more in common than we realize. Maybe it's best we don't let them get too close. Kami knows what would happen if Tayuya and Karin found a third."

"I think the world would end." Naruto and Lucien shared a brief laugh. It was the first time those two shared a laugh in a long time and it was proof that they were finally on the same page.

"Naruto, can you let Tayuya in when you leave? I'm looking for a scroll on some developments on Earth Country, but I don't know what she did with it."

"I'll have her come up here after she's done talking to Sakura."

"She's not with you?"

"No, otherwise she would have just forced herself in."

"And where is she now and please don't say with Karin and Sakura?"

"But she is. I don't see the problem. They said they wanted to ask her a couple of business related questions."

Lucien pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "So let me get this straight, you let quite possibly the two most evil women in the village when combined together alone with Sakura?" Naruto nodded, he still didn't see the problem. "Did they happen to mention what they would ask _after_ they asked the business related questions?"

Naruto got a look of complete terror on his face. He knew that somehow his sister was able to outsmart him again, and he also realized the position he left Sakura in. "Shit."

…

Now that's a touching reunion. Anyways there is the chapter.

Thank you all for reading Tanebi

Next chapter, New Sensei?

Please review.


	21. A New Sensei

Chapter 21

A New Sensei

This story isn't dead yet! I know it's been a while since I updated, sorry but I kinda had some things that had to be dealt with before I could continue the writing. Anyway I'm back now so let's get this show on the road.

...

Sakura squirmed. It seemed that every question that Tayuya and Karin asked her, made her feel even more embarrassed and awkward. It started simple enough, but it got worse as it went on. The worst part of it though was when Tayuya described, in extreme detail, the night she got pregnant.

After what seemed to be hours, Naruto finally walked through the door again with Lucien right behind him. Naruto looked flustered while Lucien looked tired.

"Aw there goes my fun," Karin said.

Naruto switched his gaze to Tayuya. His sister started out by looking at him with her angelic face, but Naruto kept his impatient glare at his sister. "Well, we got the answers that we needed and we were bored."

"I was gone for ten minutes."

"Really? Damn I didn't think we had that much time." Tayuya shrugged. "If I knew we had that much time, I could have finished my story. So I'm there pressed against the window."

Sakura looked down with her face completely red. She didn't want to hear the rest of this story whether Tayuya was making it up or not. Either way, she couldn't help but blush every time she looked at the redhead. It was as if the story put a constant mental picture in her head, and it didn't help that Karin cast a genjutsu around the room showing her the images as well. The worst part of it was that Sakura's chakra was low and she couldn't get rid of it.

"ENOUGH!" Naruto shouted.

"Party pooper."

"Alright, now that we've had our fun it's time to get to business. Sakura, we are going to train you."

Sakura was perplexed. She was taken captive by these ninja yet now they were willing to train her. It made no sense. "Who are you trying to fool here? Look you and I both know that I'm only here because I have to be. Why train me just so I can escape!"

Tayuya laughed, and it made Sakura even more angry. "Pinky, no amount of training you get will ever make you able to kick my ass got it? Fact is, we know shit about you that pisses us all off. In time, you'll see for yourself all the messed up shit that happened to you, and when that happens you'll join us."

"What kind of things?" Sakura was concerned. Lucien had mentioned something about it, as had Karin, but they hadn't told her anything at all. That and Sakura could tell that Naruto was visibly angry about something, but she assumed it was Sasuke's words to her.

"It's not my place to say. Look Sakura, Konoha has a lot of dark secrets," Tayuya said.

"As do all villages."

"Yeah but we are talking about some serious messed up shit here. And speaking of messed up shit, it's about time we introduce you to your new sensei."

On cue the door opened up and in walked a woman with shoulder length black hair and onyx eyes. She stood at medium height and wore a black long sleeved shirt and black ninja pants. A Tanebi forehead protector hung from her neck. Sakura knew that she had seen this woman before, but she didn't know where. She looked so familiar.

"Sakura, it's nice to see you again. I haven't seen you since my little boy was just two." The woman began to tear up.

"I … we … have we met?" Sakura was confused. This woman looked certainly old enough to be her mother. _Perhaps I know one of her kids maybe? Let's see, black hair, onyx eyes, she looks like. _Sakura widened her eyes. _She can't be. I mean, she did disappear years ago, but how could she?_

"Yes, my name is Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mother. I am so sorry about Sasuke's conduct. I'm afraid he takes after his father." Mikoto bowed to Sakura.

"How could you? How could you just go and abandon your child!"

"It's … a long story. I didn't want to ..." Mikota turned her head down to the ground, while Tayuya smacked Sakura in the back of the head.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Tayuya whispered harshly. "Damn she's been through some serious shit too you know?"

"But she left her child."

"No he was _taken _from her. Same as me. She'll open up eventually, but until then shut your mouth and do what she says."

Sakura glared at Tayuya but thought about what she said. She opened her mouth to say something, but when she did, she felt Tayuya's gaze at her so she kept quiet. Looking at Mikoto though, Sakura could tell she'd been through a lot. She and Kushina were close to the same age, but Mikoto looked much older and more tired.

"I'm sorry. I know it will be hard to train with a woman as horrible as me, but I'd appreciate it if you would train under me. Please go to training ground eight tomorrow morning. If you don't, I understand." With that Mikoto left, leaving Sakura confused and everyone else feeling sick.

"She blames herself for everything," Tayuya said. "All her dead friends, Sasuke, our father, mother, all of them. She thinks that all their suffering is her fault and she's placed the responsibility on herself for all these years. That bastard."

"What happened?"

"It's not our place to say," Naruto said. "She's not normally like that but there are some times where she'll just be out of it, in a void where nothing can get through to her."

"Why is she training me though? Surely there are stronger people than her here. She doesn't seem that strong."

"Our enemies are Uchiha. Did you know that the main line of Uchiha are inbred?" Lucien paused and Sakura shook her head. "They hold a tournament for all Uchiha girls whenever the next clan head becomes of age. Because bloodlines can only be transferred from women, they want the strongest Sharingan possible to give birth to the next clan head. Mikoto won, and based on what Kushina-sama says, it wasn't close. She knows things that few can understand and even fewer can replicate. That will be only a third of your regiment."

"Yeah, the other part will be training with Baa-chan." Naruto said.

"Your mother?"

Everyone in the room laughed. "Not quite my mother, but her temper is just as bad."

Sakura paled when a thought came to her. _Karin, Tayuya, Kushina, Mikoto, and now this baa-chan? Is there a normal woman in this village?_

…

"I don't understand Lord Hokage. Why enlist the help of Iwa?" Inochi asked the Hokage.

"Although we are allies, I hardly trust them, as they do us. There's still so much about Iwa that eludes us and I'm uncertain what their motives are. By pairing our Root agents with the shinobi Iwa will be sending us, I'll be closer to ascertain what their motives are."

Inochi looked at Fugaku blankly, trying to analyze him. _In other words, he wants to know if Iwa knows about Sakura. He distrusts Root as well and thus he's giving both of them a chance to show their true colors. He wants me there as well. Does that mean he distrusts me as well? _

"Do you have a dossier about the shinobi Iwa will send us?"

Fugaku opened up his desk and took out three scrolls. He then passed them over to Fugaku. Inochi opened the first one and saw a man wearing glasses. "Yakushi Kabuto. Age, 19 rank gennin? They're sending us a gennin?"

"Obviously a ploy. I was surprised to when I saw this. They either mean to insult us or have us see this as an obvious trap. He was one of the medics at the exam three years ago, but even then he had no hand to hand ninja skill. Still though, medical ninjutsu takes a lot of precision and control to perfect. With that kind of skill at his disposal ..."

"Also, with the chunin exams no longer in effect those ranking are no more than titles. He could be the strongest of them for all we know. I should keep a very close eye on this one. What of the others?"

Fugaku passed the other two scrolls over. The next one Inochi saw made him double take. "This man has 4 arms? I've never heard of a bloodline like that. And this one looks far to big and bulky to be considered efficient."

"I too have never heard of a bloodline that sprouts four arms. The Uchiha, and Konoha records don't show it. As far as the big one, it could be a clan like the Akimichi. Desertion fits them perfectly." Fugaku said.

"All gennin too. What of the shinobi sent by Root?"

"Danzo has yet to inform me. He likes to keep his shinobi hidden."

"I see, so in other words I'm traveling with six shinobi who all may want me dead. Will I have any shinobi under my direct command?"

"You will be leading this joint mission Inochi. All these men are yours."

"With all do respect my lord, from information gathered Root reports to Danzou and not you. Iwa, responds to their leader and not you. It would be easy for an _accident_ to happen and the mission to either fall apart or not go the way desired."

"This is a simple rescue mission Inochi. What good would Iwa do with a kunoichi whose hardly considered useful?"

"Why would Iwa, Root, and yourself send such a large force to rescue such a useless girl? Surely Iwa wouldn't send such a force without asking that question."

Fugaku looked quizzically at Inochi. He wondered now just what Inochi really knew. "Already we are sending seven shinobi. Such a large force will warrant a lot of attention. Sending more would almost guarantee detection and failure."

"Only sending one of your own shinobi would do the same my lord. Should Root and Iwa decide to ignore your orders, I will wind up dead and the mission a certain failure. I need more shinobi to enforce your will."

Fugaku smiled. He normally didn't smile when he was disagreed with but this was an exception. "Very well. I'll give you one Konoha shinobi of your choice among our active roster. However, I expect results Inochi. Fail me here and I will not give you a chance to fail again."

With that Inochi got up, bowed and walked away. Shortly after, another Uchiha ninja entered the room. "You called for me Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, thank you for coming Tachi. It seems that loyalty among certain shinobi had wavered. I need to reenforce my authority among a certain clan. In 3 days a team will go out in search of Sakura Haruno. I want you to detain Ino Yamanaka that night by all means necessary."

…

Sakura had trouble sleeping at night. Recently the horrible dreams left her sick and scared. Even though she knew they were only dreams, they were so realistic, cruel, and in an odd way familiar. The punishment dealt to her in the dreams felt real as if her body remembered everything that happened. Suddenly, Sakura heard a creak in the door and pretended to be asleep. Underneath her blanket she grabbed a kunai.

"You can stop faking. I know you're awake."

Tayuya. What she was doing at this hour Sakura didn't know. "What are you doing awake?" Sakura let out a breath that she had been holding.

"Just finished fucking my husband and I'm hungry. Not the best sex we've had but with Lacus due to arrive soon we had to stop after only the second time. Normally ..."

"That's … quite enough." Sakura pulled her blanket over her head to hide her face. "I take it that you're here to talk about more than just your sex life."

Tayuya chuckled. "Yeah, but if you want, I can just talk about your sex life. I mean you and my brother seem pretty close if you ask me." Sakura pulled her blanket tighter around her body. "You know, you're so fun to tease."

"Look, I want to talk woman to woman. It's about everything since you've been here." Sakura pulled the blankets back to over her legs and sat up on the bed.

"Listen Sakura, I want to apologize to you."

"You mean for all the teasing and sex talk?"

"No that was funny and I stand behind that all the way. It's more on behalf of my husband." Sakura grunted and turned her face. Lucien was not a topic she wanted to talk about. "I know you haven't forgiven him yet, and I'm not sure you ever will. But I want you to know something. You can trust him. Lucien, Karin, myself and especially Naruto. You can trust all of us. Whatever you decide we'll support."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Sakura, has anyone ever told you about my sixth sense?" Sakura shook her head. "Every time something really bad is about to happen I can sense it. I'm feeling that now more than anything. I have no idea what will happen, but I know something bad will happen soon and I want you to know that you can trust us."

"You could always let me go. If you guys say that I'm so important that everyone wants me, wouldn't it be safer to just let me …"

"THAT WON'T HAPPEN!" Tayuya yelled as she stood up and punched the wall before a small bit of pain took over. Sakura tried to get up and help her but Tayuya silenced her with her hand. "Sorry, but I'm not letting you back into those bastard's hands. They've fucked with you too much."

"What did they do? It's like you all know but I don't. What could possibly be so bad that nobody can tell me what happened to me? What did the Hokage do?" Sakura grabbed at her sheets again and started to cry.

"It's not my place to say. It's better that you figure it out yourself. Hell you may even remember it on your own."

"What can I possibly remember? How can I remember something if I have no idea what it is!" Sakura paused and widened her eyes. The sick she got after her dreams came back. But there was no way that could be possible though.

Tayuya looked at Sakura with a curious look. She saw the look of realization followed by a look of pain which probably meant that she realized something important and by the way she clutched her stomach, it was probably something about her past. Tayuya would have to let Karin know about this.

After a few moments of silence, Tayuya yawned. Sakura nearly giggled. Even when she yawned, Tayuya still looked ready to kill somebody. As she got up, Tayuya winced a bit and muttered something that sounded a bit like the word bitch.

"Are you okay?" Sakura said.

"She kicked me."

"Ohhh can I feel?" Initially the question earned a glare from the redhead. That glare however turned into a smile as she lifted her shirt past her belly and motioned for Sakura to feel her stomach. After a few seconds of waiting, Sakura felt it. Sure enough, when that happened Tayuya winced a bit, but she also saw something else in her face. She saw that Tayuya looked happy. Her face was warm and full of life. Sakura also smiled. She realized that this was the way Tayuya really was beneath her tough exterior.

Tayuya looked down at Sakura and saw her face. For really the first time since she came here Sakura looked happy. Sakura's eyes which had been mostly blank and tired suddenly began to begin to show some life.

"I think she kicks like her mom," Sakura said.

"You mention this to anyone and you'll relive just how hard I kick." Tayuya said changing her face to the customary scowl as she pulled her shirt back down over belly.

"Now, if you don't mind me, I think that Lucien is ready for the next round. Night."

As Tayuya left Sakura was left back to her thoughts. Initially, it was about how Tayuya was just trying to make her feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't tell if she was serious or not. However as those thoughts faded, she was brought back to the harsh reality of her nightmares. Perhaps, those nightmares were truths about the stuff that happened to her. Sakura took a deep breath and fell asleep. Only this night was different. As opposed to previous nights, this time she could feel a protector around her. She couldn't see his face, but she did see his pleasant blue eyes.

…...

Alright there we go another chapter down. I at least wanted to get this one up before Thanksgiving and I'm pleased to have met my goal.

Hope you guys liked this chapter because the next chapter the action is really going to pick up.

Thank you for reading.

Next Chapter, Mikoto's Riddle

Please review.


	22. Mikoto's Riddle

Tanebi 22-Mikoto's Riddle

It's the shortest wait between chapters ever! Okay maybe not the shortest but it is compared to my others.

I got a review by someone else and it intrigued me. I guess I blame myself for the confusion because of how far apart my updates have been. Basically you think Tanebi had something to do with Sakura's mental situation. I actually covered that a few chapters ago in a long speech by Karin. Again it's my bad mostly because I can't expect you to just remember something from that long ago. Just know that at the end of this chapter, it will all be over.

Alright let's go. Don't own yadda yadda yadda.

...

"Alright, here is the exercise." Mikoto explained as she looked over Sasame, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Although she was only training Sakura, Mikoto decided that she needed sparring partners close to her own age. "Tow of you will be working together to take out the other opponent. However, when I see fit, I will call out a name and then it will be the other two attacking the third. Any questions?" Nobody said anything. "Good. Sasame, you're the first enemy."

Sakura looked over at Shikamaru. She remembered his tactics. He would generally bait an enemy into a trap and get the enemy with a shadow possession. She also knew the weakness that Shikamaru experiances the same pain as the person he possesses. She figured that she could use him to possess Sasame and then take them both out.

Mikota lowered her arm and the fight began. It started off as a stalemate with Sasame in a defensive stance looking at both Sakura and Shikamaru. Eventually Shikamaru used his shadow possession towards Sasame and she began backpeddling. She kept careful eye of where the shadow was and eventually darted into the trees. Sakura took that time to ambush her in the woods only to see three Sasame's in the clearing.

It was a simple bunshin, but it was effective. Since Sakura missed the original jutsu used there was no way to track which one was real. The one on the right charged her, but Sakura kicked up some dust and used a small wind jutsu to carry it across the clearing. With the dust in the air, Sakura leaped to high ground in the trees and saw only one of the Sasame's covering her eyes. That let her know which one was real. She was about to leap from the trees with a kunai drawn to try and ambush Sasame when she heard it.

"SAKURA!"

Quickly she looked behind her to see Shikamaru's shadow coming up behind her. She figured it out. Shikamaru led her there the entire time and used that to betray her. She also figured out Mikoto's game. She would scream the name of the shinobi most vulnerable. Luckily for her she was able to dodge Shikamaru's shadow before she saw Sasame charge her.

Running down the tree and avoiding the shadow, Sakura dodged Sasame's attacks with great feats of agility taught to her by Kiba. It did her no good to think though as every time she opened the distance between herself and Sasame, Shikamaru would try a shadow ambush. In these forests, Shikamaru was probably more dangerous than anybody as his shadow could come from anywhere. It seemed to her that Shikamaru wasn't taking this fight very seriously. She figured that if he was trying his hardest, Shikamaru would have caught her 4 times by now.

Eventually Sasame backed Sakura up against the tree and tried to tie her up with wire when Sakura made her move and hit the backside of Sasame's knee. That disrupted her attack, but instead of finishing Sasame, she went for the bigger problem and made a beeline for the shadow user.

"SHIKAMARU!"

The fight changed again and Sakura saw Sasame limping towards her. She realized it may have been a mistake hitting that particular joint of Sasame, because now even though the match had shifted, Sasame was limited by mobility. Shikamaru dodged the initial punch by Sakura and continued to dodge the clever assortment of attacks Sakura threw at her. After one of Sakura's combos grazed Shikamaru, Sasame came in and started her own assault. Sakura and Sasame then began to weave in and out, each of them attacking a new point of Shikamaru's. Sasame was still lacking mobility from Sakura's attack but the two still nearly trapped Shikamaru. He was able to avoid most of them but it took a toll on him. He was covered in scratches and dust.

At one point in the combat, he was pincered. Sakura was on one side and Sasame the other. Sakura went in for a lunging blow and Shikamaru barely dodged off to the side. Sakura turned herself towards Shikamaru and prepared to end the fight.

"SAKURA!"

Her eyes widened as she felt herself get tangled. She looked over to Sasame who had her chakra threads wrapped all around Sakura's wrists and legs. It was over.

Sakura continued to struggle against the wires when Mikoto came up to them. "Nice work all of you. Sakura, despite not knowing either of these two, you still managed to work well with Sasame. However you left yourself open to two attacks. At any point in a mission betrayal is an option, especially with an unknown ally."

"Sasame, despite outnumbering your opponent, you still took a blow to your knee. Even with backup you really can't afford to take too many chances. Shikamaru was left to fend for himself while you tended to your knee. In a combat situation he may have been in extreme risk. However, your attacks were well in tune with both of your teammates and your strategy was well executed."

Sasame nodded about the criticism and Mikoto turned her attention to Shikamaru.

"I saved too much of my chakra and my taijutsu wasn't developed enough to handle a two on one attack, but I cause both of my opponents to use a lot of their chakra and stamina." He yawned as he nonchalantly stated both his strenths and weaknesses. Mikoto got a tick mark above her head as she turned to both Sasame and a still tied up Sakura.

"Sasame, dismissed. And untie her before you go." Sasame did as she was told but not before shooting a scowl at Sakura. She didn't know why, but every time Sasame saw Sakura she seemed mad at her.

"Sit." Sakura did as Mikoto joined her. "Do you know why we did this?"

"To always keep an eye on my back?"

"Yes. It's a mistake I once made and it cost me … well … everything."

…..

"So wait what you're saying is her memory is starting to come back?" Naruto asked.

"When I mentioned it to her, she got a look of shock on her face which was followed by realization and then disgust. I know what I saw." Tayuya said.

Karin pushed her glassed up before looking at the latest scans of Sakura's brain activity. She then compared it to another that was taken the previous day, and finally of one taken the day she arrived. "This could be bad."

Naruto and Tayuya both shot a look at Karin. "Look at these scans carefully and particularly the area with the cracks. Notice how the longer we go, the more these cracks widen and deepen. Meanwhile that void is getting filled with equal amounts of both her chakra, and the other chakra."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura's psyche is fragile at the moment. We have no idea what kind of effect it will have when her full memories return. Worst case scenario is that her inner persona becomes the dominant in her." Both Naruto and Tayuya got worried looks on their faces. "That shouldn't happen though. She strong enough to not let it go that far but we still need to keep an eye on her."

"What will happen when the seal is gone?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. However I know this, we can't tell her what happened to her or else that could put too much strain on her mind. We also can't forcibly break it on our own or else Inner will take over for good. Our best course of action is the one taken. If I had a prediction, I'd say that she will be fine but she will need a lot of support, comfort, and … shut up Tayuya, possibly a bit of theropy." Tayuya raised her arms over her head like a child who got caught in a lie and was trying to play innocent.

Naruto nodded and walked out of the room, head held low. For the moment he just wanted to be alone and think about this.

"Hey Karin, 100 ryo says he's going to where Sakura is." Karin shook her head. She didn't feel like losing money.

….

Sakura's training with Mikoto was unlike any other training she'd ever had. It wasn't based on a lot of physical activity, but rather it was a lot of mental work. Mikoto would get in a stance and then ask Sakura what she would do. All the time though Mikoto had an answer for her. Sakura was a very smart girl but this woman was on a whole new level.

"Sakura, did you know that Kushina once had a nickname for me?" Sakura shook her head. "She always called me the cerebral assassin."

Sakura widened her mouth. She knew that nickname. It was the official nickname for Lucien in the Konoha Bingo Book. "I trained Lucien. It was because of my training that allowed him to make my son putty in his hands, and it was that training that allowed him to toy with you during your battle."

"Toyed with me? I almost had him."

Mikoto laughed. "Did you? Or did he make you _think_ you almost had him?" Sakura thought about the fight in detail. During the fight she could have had the upper hand on a few occasions but his stance and attack pattern caused her to rethink the strategy she had and change her attack pattern. Finally, during the end she used her best technique but he had an escape plan all planned and she had no room to defend herself. Even though she had him cornered he found a way to escape.

Sakura also thought about the similarity between that and Shikamaeu in the forest. She thought back to how he could have trapped her at any point if he put real thought into it,

"Is that what this training is about? It's to make me like _him_?"

"Although his methods are controversial, they are effective. That's how I _won_ the tournament to become Fugaku's wife. Most Uchiha are easy to manipulate if you know how to get in their head. Among other things, Uchiha hate pity and sympathy the most." Sakura knew all about the Uchiha pride. Uchiha were elite shinobi and they deserved a bit of pride, but an enemy could easily take advantage of it if he knew which buttons to press. Sasuke won the fight but his pride took a blow that wouldn't heal. "By refusing to use my eyes even though though all the other Uchiha girls knew I had them allowed me to manipulate all their movements."

"And that's how Lucien manipulated Sasuke. By quitting and giving Sasuke a match in front of a stadium full of people ..."

"Exactly. Under normal circumstances he possibly couldn't beat Sasuke. If that fight had dragged on much longer, Sasuke may have won."

"Now however he won't and probably can't," Sakura finished.

"Unless that is of course unless Sasuke gets over it. Very difficult to get over intense rage when your father is the most powerful man in the village and your mother ..." Mikoto started to cry, and Sakura was torn. On the one hand, she wondered just how a mother could leave her child. However she also knew that Tayuya wouldn't lie to her. Well she wouldn't lie to her about anything serious.

"Mikoto, what happened? Why did you leave the village?"

Mikoto sighed. There were parts of the story that she would have to leave out, but she knew that it had to be told. To this point, Sakura didn't really know about what happened in the Konoha underground.

"I won the tournament and got to marry the man of my dreams. He was tall, handsome, future leader, everything. Fugaku Uchiha had everything that made us girls crazy."

Sakura could relate to that. Those traits described Sasuke perfectly.

A couple years later, I got pregnant and gave birth to Itachi. We were so happy the three of us. Sometime though, Fugake changed. In fact, I think it was about the time Minato won the seat of Hakage. Fugaku and him used to be friends but their theory of village politics caused them to clash time after time. I always tried to stay out of it and still remained good friends with Kushina. Just cause our husbands couldn't get along didn't mean we couldn't. After one such fight, Fugaku stormed off calling Minato an idiot and a fool, accusing him of being the one who would bring the village to the brink of destruction."

"And he did. He lured the Kyuubi to the village just to seal it in his son and increase his family's power." Sakura interrupted.

"No he didn't, but I'll get to that later." Mikoto started to walk around in a circle around Sakura. "Shortly after that argument, a hidden lab was found. A lab of forbidden research conducted by Orochimaru, and he fled the village. One of his apprentices took the opportunity to sneak inside Kushina's compound and abduct Tayuya. It wasn't until well after Sasuke was born before I found out that Fugaku planned the whole thing. He knew Sarutobi would let Orochimaru go and he knew that Minato and Kushina would be distracted. A series of diversions had Kushina leave the Namekazi compound and it was infiltrated and attacked."

"Kushina was devestated, but my husband's plan failed as Minato stood strong through the crisis and the village rallied around him and his wife. Later, they had another child and here is where the tide changes as I got pregnant again around the same time and our friend Yuri got pregnant sometime soon after as well. We were all happy. It was the first time I saw some life in Kushina's eyes in a long time. She dreamed of having another daughter and Yuri having a son and then those two would marry. It was actually in a contract they drew up."

"And that was Naruto right? And this Yuri ..."

"She gave birth to a beautiful little girl."

"So he's engaged," Sakura said, dropping her head. The news made her very disappointed.

"No, that contract is null and void." It made sense to Sakura. Treason was a very good reason to nullify a marriage contract.

"Naruto was born first and that was when all hell broke loose. At first I believed like you did that Minato summoned Kyuubi to seal him within his son. I mean the attack and and birth being on the same day was just too much of a coincidence. I tried talking to Kushina but it did no good."

Sakura seemed deep in thought. "So then what really happened?"

Mikoto bit her lower lip, not knowing how to proceed. She would need to tell Sakura Kushina's biggest secret but Kushina told her that she could reveal any details she felt necessary. "Kushina contained Kyuubi before her son did. If Minato wanted to tap into its power, he could have at any time." Sakura wasn't expecting that. In fact, she was expecting nothing like that.

"Fugaku … forced Kushina into early labor and then created another distraction by finding one of Orochimaru's subordinates. Kushina made Minato leave to subdue him and find any lead on Tayuya, but that left Kushina guarded by only Fugaku. He … he ..."

Sakura knew the rest. Fugaku drew out Kyuubi and it went on a rampage. After Minato found out the lead was false he hurried back, resealed Kyuubi, and died. She felt so bad. Sakura had no idea how hard it had been for Kushina, and Naruto. They both lost a person so near to them and yet they had to endure all that talk, demonizing a man who gave up so much. Even when Sakura said those things, it must have killed Naruto but he never once said anything negative to her about it because he knew that she was just a sheep taking in the words of a master manipulator.

"I was blind at the time to Fugaku's deeds and continued to stand by him. I still saw him as the man I loved and married. I didn't know about Kushina being a jinchuriki until later. After the exodus, Yuri and Haru got brought back, defeated. Yuri was detained and in chains. Before their trial, I begged and pleaded with Fugaku to not kill them. I begged him to use his mercy and he told me that he would."

Sakura recognized the name Haru Inuzuka. She knew that was Kiba's father's name. She concluded that the incident happened shortly after Kiba was born. She also knew that Haru Inuzuka was dead.

"Haru's trial happened immediately. He was found guilty and as his decree of mercy, he stabbed him through the shoulder and let him bleed to death. When I asked him about it he laughed and said that killing him like that was the only mercy a bastard like him deserved. To further his punishment, he was forced to watch as Fugaku took control of the Inuzuka by threats to his wife. Fugaku threatened to wipe out all the Inuzuka pups and children just because of Haru's deeds."

Sakura couldn't believe it. All of a sudden the hatred Sasuke felt for Kiba made sense. It also made sense why Tsume would lay down for whatever Fugaku wanted.

"After that I decided that I had to leave and I had to take Sasuke, Itachi, and Yuri's child with me. I failed though. Fugaku figured out what I was going to do early so I had to spin preparations ahead. Itachi and I had to take out about two thirds of the Uchiha clan in order to escape. I then had to make an impossible choice. I could either leave with Itachi, or get Sasuke and leave Itachi to die."

Sakura felt horrible. It must have been a difficult decision. She thought back to one of her training sessions which was the most scared she had ever been in her life. Kurenai held her in a genjutsu where both Kiba and Sasuke were tied up. An enemy came up to her and told her that she could release only one of them and the other one would die. In that case she couldn't make a decision, but Mikoto had to make one. She knew that if she didn't act they'd both likely die. Still though one other thing bothered her. According to what Mikoto said, Yuri's daughter may still be in the Konoha.

She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that this Yuri was important. Also, if she knew who Yuri's daughter was, it might bring some kind of ease to Mikoto. Sakura took another look at Mikoto, and she had been through so much already. Mikoto took a look at Sakura and smiled. Sakura looked a lot like her mother when she concentrated on something.

"Mikoto, were there any … unusual characteristics with Yuri's child?"

"Sakura don't beat around the bush. If you have a question that you really want to ask, just ask it."

"I was just wondering what Yuri's child's name was. Her name wasn't Ino was it?"

"No, I'm not familiar with the name Ino. However I will give you a clue. Yuri and her daughter both had a … unique characteristic that they shared. Now, you'll rest and get ready for your other sensei."

"Right this baa-chan or whatever."

Mikoto's lip curled in a smile. "I wouldn't suggest calling her that. Her temper rivals Shina, but … well … rumor has it that Lake Inusaka was made when she got so mad at her teammate she punched a dam and it broke."

…

Ino walked to the Uchiha district with an invitation in her pocket. Things had changed since Sasuke, Kiba, and Kurenai got back. The fact that Sakura was missing certainly upset her greatly, but the loss of Sakura affected more than just those close to her.

The very structure of Konoha was shaken. Knowledge that Tanebi had gotten in the village scared the village to its core. Surely there were more Tanebi shinobi lurking in the shadows. It started with a strictly enforced curfew. After midnight, Uchiha shinobi lined the streets in search of anyone out. Anyone caught was immediately detained and questioned.

When she heard Sakura was captured, Ino was crushed. Even through their rivalry they remained close, but losing her to an enemy shinobi was worse. She was going to kill those two fakers that they _saved _a couple days age.

"Pardon me miss, could you spare a ryo?" Ino walked past an older man with a beard.

She decided to ignore him. She didn't feel good about being out at night, but Sasuke's invitation was tempting. She decided that she would prove her loyalty to both him and the village by going to meet him tonight. The plan was to have the two of them team up and meet up with Inochi, who left earlier in the day with Kurenai.

"That's cold miss. You sure you can't spare a ryo?"

Ino turned around and held out a kunai. She didn't intent to use it, but she figured that this man would understand the threat.

"Watch out, the rose has thorns," A man with a smile said as he walked out from the shadows. He reached in his pocket and held out a small badge with the Uchiha insignia on it. Ino looked back at the old man and he ripped off his old beard and held out a badge as well. Ino reached in her pocket and took out the note from Sasuke and handed it to the man who asked her for money.

"Sasuke-sama left the village last night. What are you _really _doing out? Passing information to the enemy?"

Ino's heart sank. She had to talk her way out of this one. "No, I really got this message today. Sasuke-kun just wanted to save Sakura. As do I. I'm her best friend."

"Save us the shit miss. We're taking you in." The man reached out to touch Ino and she panicked. She threw the kunai point blank and he was able to dodge it, but it cut his cheek in the process.

"You bitch!"

"Well if you aren't the sorriest piece of ass on tonight, you're going to be the sorest."

Ino tried to run but the other shinobi cut her off. She looked to her right, left and up but all avenues of escape were blocked. She looked at the shinobi who she cut, a combo of rage and lust filled his eyes when all of a sudden they went blank.

"Hey Lang, what's wrong? You sick?"

Lang collapsed on the street dead with a single senbon sticking in his neck his heart. The other Uchiha activated his sharingan and scanned the area looking for enemies when he felt an intense rush of chakra surround him. That feeling eventually turned into a fog which he could barely see through. He tried to signal but when he moved his arm, another senbon punctuated his wrist.

"Isn't it ironic. You seal the streets and yet when you need help and scream, all the other police think you're nothing more than a citizen being detained for treason. You have no help. I've already taken care of your backup. Now it's just you, me and the Yamanaka girl."

Ino couldn't see much in the fog but she could make out a shinobi about her size wearing a mask covering hir face. Long hair stuck out and ran along his back.

"I'll teach you to mess with us!" The man ran at the new shinobi with a kunai and the two clashed with their weapons.

"How foolish. You don't realize that this fight is already over."

"Oh yeah, how?"

"I have two key advantages. One, we are surrounded by water. Two, you are engaged and your other arm injured. You have no defenses left." Ino could barely see it, but the shinobi made a lot of hand seals with only one arm. "Secret jutsu, a thousand needles of death."

Numerous needles formed in the air and struck the ground rapidly. The Uchiha was unable to get away. The ice pierced through several parts of his body. He had no time to recover though as Haku kicked him in the back.

_So fast. I didn't even see him move. _Ino was terrified. She had no idea what this new shinobi wanted but she was sure that he could do her a lot more harm than those two.

The Uchiha got up and wiped blood from his mouth and a senbon crashed down on both his ankles. The fight was over. He couldn't move and one of his arms were taken out.

"Now let's talk. You guys were just waiting here for something. Normal patrols don't take the liberty of creating a disguise. Why were you waiting for the girl?"

"I'll never tell you Tanebi scum! I'd much rather die!"

"I'd rather not torture you. It's not the way I work, but I know the points of the body very well having trained with the Demon of the Mist."

The man paled. Rumor had it that that man died about three and a half years ago. If memory served Tanebi collected the bounty. It was also clear that the hidden mist jutsu surrounded them. He knew right now that he had no choice of escape.

"Let me guess then if you're not willing to talk. You want her to blackmail Inochi Yamanaka into doing anything the Hokage asks." The boy said it as a statement not a question. The man paled. He tried to get up and run away but a senbon to the neck finished him off.

Ino watched in horror as the mist disappeared. She heard everything but wondered what it all meant. Did her father plan on betraying Konoha? In fear, Ino grabbed a kunai.

"No need to go that far. I did just save your life." Ino shivered as the ninja turned to her. His voice changed though from threatening to gentle.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Ino kept her kunai out and looked the masked shinobi right in the face.

"I'm merely fulfilling a request from a friend. He told me that a good man helped him escape and he wanted me to look after his daughter in case something like this happened."

"My father? You lie!"

"It was a simple deal. He helps us get away and in exchange his child has her own full time bodyguard."

"Oh so you guys just took Sakura to do whatever you want then?"

"Rest assured that Sakura is fine. You do not need to pursue her. We will do nothing to harm her."

"Of course you wouldn't. Sasuke-kun is the one you want right?"

"We have no need of Uchiha. If you wish to know the truth of everything meet me at the entrance to district 53 tomorrow night at 11:45. If not, I suggest that you forget everything you heard tonight, and wait for the Uchiha to capture you, rape you, and use you to force your father into doing anything Fugaku wants him to do."

Ino slowly let her kunai down. She still didn't trust this guy, but she would at least let him say his piece.

She knew that if he wanted to take her, he could easily do so, and staying here wasn't a good idea.

"I'm sorry it had to come down to this."

With that the shinobi disappeared as a bubble of water surrounded him and exploded.

Ino looked around and decided to run home. On the way back she saw a few shinobi on the ground, the backup that the mysterious shinobi defeated. The sights of their bodies prompted her to run faster home.

When she got home, she sat down on her couch and began panting heavily as the scene replayed through her mind. She thought of her options. After tonight, she had no doubt that another abduction attempt would occur. She knew where he'd be and she could report it to the Hokage. As powerful and fast as he was there was no way he could kill a whole squad of ANBU. Maybe that would also ease the Hokage's doubts towards her father. She figured that wouldn't work though. Whoever this guy was probably had his eyes on her at all times. If he saw her go to the Hokage, he'd either not show or just leave the village. Plus, her actions wouldn't exactly help her father. Even if she did that, there's guarantee that she wouldn't be walking into another trap. On the other hand, if she left with this guy, the only thing that changes is who's controlling her father. Walking blindly into him wouldn't be smart either.

Ino grabbed her head and screamed in frustration. It seemed like any way she went about it she was screwed. She looked over above the bookcases where there was a picture of Ino and her team.

"Shino, you once told me that the bigger the reward, the bigger the sacrifice. Either way I have to sacrifice something huge. Lee would probably just run into their village and demand Sakura back." She chuckled. "I wish I could do that. I need information. One thing is clear though. Something big is going on with Sakura and I'm going to find out what it is, but I'll be damned if I just surrender myself."

…

Sakura hit her bed with a thud and a loud grunt. She shouldn't have been that surprised when the legendary medic Tsunade was training her. After all, if Jiraiya turned sides it would make sense that she would too. It was tough for her to swallow though that Tsunade was the chief advisor to Kushina, and head of the hospital. Sakura knew she was in for rough training.

Putting aside a large book of poisons Tsunade told her to read ten pages of a night, as well as writing up her own journal of what she's learning, she allowed her mind to veer back to what Mikoto told her. She tried to think about unusual characteristics of the shinobi of Konoha. Immediately her mind thought about the bloodlines but none of the ones Konoha had, had many unique physical traits. She then went to some of the more basic things such as size, weight, and eye color. Nobody in the village that she knew of looked different enough to note as far as height and weight. Not at least enough to distinguish themselves from the other girls. The only other thing could have been eye color, but the only one who had a unique eye color was her sensei but she was far too old to be Yuri's daughter. Accoring to the story, she'd have to be in her grade level.

Sakura swept some of hair out of her eyes and stated to play with it with her finger. She always did when faced with a tough problem. Even though she must have been the only girl in the world with a bubblegum like hair.

Sakura froze and brought her hair into her eyesight. It was certainly unique enough to set her apart from anyone else but there was no way it could be her because she knew her mother didn't have pink hair. Did she?

Sakura shook her head. There was no way she wouldn't remember her own mom and how she protected her during a robbery when she was only 5. Her mom hid her in her in the closet and they waited for police together. No that wasn't right. That same day she was out of town on a trip. She cried because a boy with blonde hair and whiskers knocked her down and stole her candy as his sister laughed.

Blonde hair and whiskers? But that village was far from Rice country. Naruto couldn't have been there, but why would she remember that if that memory didn't exist, and why would she have conflicting memories of the same day?

Sakura clutched her head as the floodgates opened and the dreams came back in force. Like a long nightmare the memories rushed back in her head of all the things that happened, and all the things that was done to her by the mysterious people. The last thing that came into her head was a one of her slaughtering numerous children while smiling the whole time as a man in bandages stood by smiling.

Suddenly she was eclipsed in a flash of white as she stood face to face with herself. However, the girl opposite of her was smiling.

…

Evil cliffy I know but hey I liked it. We're finally at the part of the story where all my buildup starts to come together. Anyway, that's all I got for now.

Thank you for reading.

Next chapter: Mirror Image

Please review.


	23. Mirror Image

Tanebi Chapter 23

Mirror Image

Sakura looked around the room in a panic. Everything around her was white, aside from the girl standing in front of her. She noticed that all the pain in her head and limbs was completely gone. She had no idea where she was, but where ever it was, wasn't good.

Sakura took a look at the girl closely. She was young, little, and looked exactly like Sakura did. The only differences were her small five-year-old body, and her unreal vibe. This small girl's radiating chakra suffocated the older girl.

Immediately, the girl raised her arm and hundreds of small sakura petals rushed from her to Sakura. She dodged backwards, and contorted her body in ways she'd never thought she could. After only a few dodges though, one of the petals slashed her arm. Blood began to flow down her arm as pain flowed through her body.

The girl called back the petals, not letting go of the smile on her face.

"W-who are you? Where am I?" Sakura choked out, backing away from the young girl.

"Why ask the obvious?" The young girl countered, her mouth in the continuous smile.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and exhaled, trying to be calm. With all the new information in her head, it was difficult to completely get everything. One thing was clear though, this girl was the annoying voice she'd heard in her head for a long time, and this was the same girl who had possessed her and attacked Kushina and Tayuya.

"So, you figured it out. Yes, I am you, or rather what you used to be before they sealed me up."

"Danzou." The name rolled of Sakura's tongue like venom. The very name brought up fresh memories of old wounds that the man mad inflicted on her in her life.

"So, you really do remember. I'm so FLATTERED!" She shouted as she released thousands of more petals at her older self.

Sakura again went on the defensive as she tried to avoid the petals. As she danced away from the petals coming at her from the front, she was blindsided by more petals. They cut up her face and right arm before being contracted back to the young girl.

Sakura got back on her feet breathing heavy, a crimson mask beginning to cover her face. Her right arm hung at her side. Breathing heavy, a light green glow appeared on her damaged left arm and healed her right one.

"Why are you fighting me?"

"Again, asking the questions you already know the answer to. You know what they did to us."

"So you're fighting me? You and I are one, we shouldn't fight."

The younger girl laughed. "The seal has been broken. Do you know what that means?" Sakura shook her head. "It means that only one of us can EXIST!"

Sakura paled as another barrage came upon her. _Wait a minute, if we are one … that means … _"I can use them too!" Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated her chakra. When she opened them, she saw a shield of pink petals holding back thousands of pink petals.

"Bang," The younger girl said as her petals exploded, knocking Sakura back. Pink smoke surrounded her as the younger girl kept her smile in place. As the smoke cleared, it revealed the older Sakura on the ground shaking. Slowly, Sakura began to crawl up on all fours. After that, she got to one knee and finally stood up on wobbly legs.

"If I knew what emotions were, I might be feeling guilty, or maybe I'd just be embarrassed. I'm five and yet you can barely stand before me."

Sakura wiped a mixture of blood and sweat away from her face. Her younger form didn't pursue the attack but she couldn't figure out why. She knew she had to think of something though, or else this battle would kill her. _What's going on? She could have finished me there and two other times as well. Maybe … yes I understand why._

Sakura smiled and got back into her stance. The younger form again lifted her arm and sent her petals at Sakura. Sakura waited and focused chakra to her feet. The added speed allowed her to more easily avoid the oncoming petals. After a couple seconds of dancing, she recognized the pattern of attacks that her younger form used. When they came from the side this time, Sakura summoned some petals and threw them at the ongoing attack. She then spun around and threw the petals at the ones coming at her from the front.

The younger form widened her eyes and tried to see through the smoke. When the smoke cleared, she saw her older version sprinting at her with her fist cocked back. She was defenseless against the attack and she knew it. Eye's widening, she leaned her body backwards as Sakura's fist connected with her face.

The smaller girl flew back ten meters and skidded on the ground another fifteen. Sakura breathed heavily, thinking that the fight was over. She limped over to the smaller girl, who with a bruised side of the face looked peaceful, but the sinister smile on her face was still present.

"So, you figured out your weakness," the smaller girl said.

"Yeah, you can only keep your petals up for a small burst. Afterwards, you need to either retract them or detonate them before they just disappear and you can't use them for a small amount of time."

The girl still lay on the ground breathing heavily, and her body began to fade. It began as her toes began to turn into a pink smoke that began to flow into Sakura.

"What's happening to you?" Sakura gasped.

"What I tried to do to you, fade you from existence. I told you this. After I was sealed, a new personality was created, you. They couldn't destroy me completely, I was too strong, so they sealed me and created a new personality, you." The young girl's toes were now completely gone and now her feet began to disappear.

"They hid me behind a seal as you were created with forbidden jutsu by the Hokage and Danzou. Over time, I tried to force my way out, but each time I did they strengthened the seal. This time, I was almost able to escape, but you got in my way. Who would have thought that the one never meant to exist would destroy the one who was everything they wanted?"

"Why would they seal you?" Sakura asked. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"I was perfect, too perfect for them. I held no allegiance to anyone. All I knew how to do was kill and smile. I couldn't tell who was an ally or not. To me, everyone was an enemy, even myself." Her feet were now gone, as were the lower half of her legs.

"What would you have done if you got my body back?" Sakura asked. Tears now flowed freely from her eyes.

"I'd kill everyone around me. The redhead, the silver haired guy, the blonde, everyone would die. I'd walk around my entire life until everything that came across me died. I knew that wouldn't happen though. I knew you'd stop me." The girl's torso quickly dissolved into nothing.

"I hated you. You have emotions. You have friends. You had a willpower and a reason to live. All those things were things that I could never understand. But … in the end … I'm glad you won. Protect it. Protect these people and make … Danzou … pay." The girl disappeared into a pink smoke. The last part of her to remain was the ever present smile. Sakura fell to her knees and cried uncontrollably as the pink smoke surrounded her.

…

Sakura awoke with a jolt, her body filled with a new type of power. She looked at her hands and she was in awe. Her hands shook with a ferocity. Her hands then moved to the side of her head and then down her hair. Her injuries were gone, but the memories were there. Awful, horrible memories of killing her younger self. She was also cursed with the memories of the younger girl.

Everything that happened to her ran through her mind. Images of torture of all kinds filled her brain. All her memories of Sasuke helping her vanished as if they were nothing more than mere fairy tales told by her mother. A knock at the door interrupted her reverie. She wanted whoever was there to just go away and leave her in the dark.

"Sakura? Are you awake?"

She knew that voice. It was him. She didn't want to speak to him now. She didn't want to speak with anyone now. The door opened slightly and Sakura moved her head to her pillow. She figured that if she faked going to sleep he would just go away.

"Sakura? I heard a scream coming from here. You okay?"

She continued to keep her head attached to the pillow. She gasped as she heard him step carefully towards her bed. He reached out and stroked the side of her hair.

"Looks like I have nothing to be afraid of," he said as he sighed a breath of relief. "Probably just my imagination running wild again. Well … that or my sister is … well I don't want to think about that." Naruto laughed slightly to himself. Sakura wanted to slightly laugh too. Not at Tayuya having sex, but Naruto trying to sleep while his sister screamed obscenities constantly while having sex. Having that image in her head, she snorted.

Cautiously Naruto narrowed his eyes at the figure in front of him. Sakura's eyes widened as she knew she made a sound and she knew that he heard her.

"Sakura why are you pretending to be asleep?"

Sakura sighed. She did not want to deal with this right now. She wanted to be alone and cry her eyes out about everything, not put on a strong face so Naruto doesn't worry about her. The last thing Sakura wanted was to seem weak.

"I'm just tired. I had a hard day and I just wanted sleep."

"You're lying," Naruto's blue eyes pierced into her, making her lean backwards.

"I'm fine." Sakura turned up the intensity in her eyes, but her voice lacked conviction.

"You've been crying."

"It's nothing!"

"Why are you being like this?" Naruto growled. This was getting old for him and getting old for her too. Why couldn't he just leave her alone.

"I'm not _being _like anything okay. I told you I'm fine. Nothing happened! Nothing ..." Sakura gripped her blankets as her head dropped. Fresh tears surfaced as she remembered her fight. Tears that she had been suppressing since he walked in threatened to spill out. She had to get him out of there now. Sakura did not want him to see her like this.

Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. She closed her eyes and jerked her head to the side as the salty liquid started to drop, but she had to try and be strong. He then moved his arms to around her neck and drew her into him.

She knew she couldn't fight it any more. The battle was over. There was no way she could hold it in anymore. She grabbed him around the middle and let the tears fall into his chest. Naruto reached from Sakura's neck to reach up and kindly stroke her hair comforting.

"It was horrible," Sakura choked out. "I … I killed her."

"Her? What happened? Please Sakura, you can't hold this in. It will eat you alive leaving only a shell."

"That's what she was, a shell. It's what they made me."

Recognition ran across Naruto's face as he realized what happened. The seal was gone, and her memories came back. He was torn. On one hand, he wanted things to be out in the open. No more secrets or trying to hide the truth. However, now he knew that the most difficult battle for her was just beginning.

Sakura sniffed and wiped her eyes, trying to get a clear head and tell him everything that happened in the dreamlike state. "Something inside me burst, like I all of a sudden remembered everything. My entire life flashed in front of eyes; real memories, not the fake ones they put in me flooded my brain. Then I passed out."

Sakura started shaking just remembering everything. "Then I fought her. Kami, Naruto she was five. She was so small but her eyes, they were dead." The tears began to flow again. "She said … she said that only one of us could survive and ..."

She buried her head in Naruto's chest again. Naruto didn't need her to tell him the rest. The two fought for control and Sakura won.

"You did what you had to do Sakura. If she won, who knows how much damage she'd cause."

"But you didn't see her! She only knew how to kill. She didn't know any better!"

Naruto furrowed his brows. "That may be true, but what difference would it be to those who died? Whatever you did had to be done."

"You don't understand! She said she hated me. I was her. She was me. That could have … I could have ..."

"It doesn't matter. What is, is. All that matters is that you are here now and the fact that you feel this way means that you were the one who had to win. I'd be crushed if I had to see you die. I don't ..." Images ran through his head. All of them were pictures of Sakura sprawled out on the ground dead, with a mountain of dead bodies in her wake. People he'd sworn to protect that he failed, but none of them more important than the pink haired girl.

Sakura kept crying. Inside her head, the thought remained that she was never meant to exist. It didn't seem like it was right that the Sakura that had been born and raised died while the Sakura that was nothing more than a hopeless container lived. "But … I was never supposed to exist. I'm not real!"

"You _are_ real. Look at yourself. You're crying uncontrollably about killing a part of yourself. Would she? It doesn't matter if you were never meant to exist. You have real emotions, and she didn't. In my eyes, that makes you real."

He held her tighter then. Almost as if he let go, then he'd see that the Sakura he knew was lost forever while a little girl used her body to commit the greatest tragedy the village ever saw.

After about an hour of just holding each other, the pair slowly released their holds. Sakura was still crying. Looking at her now Naruto felt horrible. Right then and there he made a vow that she'd never cry again. He didn't know how, but he'd protect her from anything.

Looking at her in the darkness, he placed his fingers under her chin, tilting it up so that he stared at her emerald eyes. Sakura sniffed again as she stared into the endless ocean blue eyes of the blonde.

Sakura's heart threatened to burst out of her chest as her face reddened. It seemed as if everything between the two began to disappear into nothing as she began to lean in.

Reaching one hand over to Sakura's eyes, he wiped a stray tear from her eye as his hand dropped to tenderly cup her cheek. He slowly began to lean in as well, copying Sakura's motion. As they leaned closer and closer to each other, their eyes slowly began to close.

They continued to lean into each other until finally their lips met. Sakura's pulse shot through the roof as wave after wave of emotion crashed through her. Naruto reached around Sakura to the back of her head and gently pushed her head closer into his. Sakura, grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt and dragged him down on the bed with her.

Sakura parted her mouth slightly, and Naruto mimicked the action. The two continued their struggle to express their emotions. Neither one took control for more than a few moments, and the two wouldn't stay in the same spot. At times Sakura rolled on top, and at others Naruto was on top.

Slowly, they parted ways after their kiss. Naruto looked down and saw the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Sakura was out of breath, and her cheeks the color of her hair. It was Sakura without any walls, worries, or cares. It was just her.

Sakura opened her eyes and she saw the way Naruto was looking at her. She saw in him what he saw in her. She knew right then and there that she was in love with him, and wanted to see that face every day for the rest of her life. She knew what that meant, but she didn't care. Konoha was no home to her anyway.

Fearing that Naruto would get up and leave, Sakura grabbed his wrist. "Please stay. I … I don't want to be alone."

Naruto nodded and lay on the bed next to Sakura. Wrapping an arm around her middle he drew her closer to him. Sakura snuggled up closer to him, putting her head into his chest as she draped her arm around his torso. Maybe it was just her imagination, but at that moment she thought that her body fit perfectly inside his, like their bodies were created just for each other. That night Sakura didn't struggle to sleep.

…

Alright that's a wrap on another chapter.

Although this chapter is a bit shorter than most of my others, I like the length and pace of this chapter. I wanted to put in another scene, but I felt that this chapter didn't need it. The other scene in this chapter would have been a part with Ino, and a part with Inochi. Instead, I'm going to put all that until the next chapter.

Sorry I've been late. I've been busy with a ton of other projects, oh yeah and I'm a Packers fan. Super Bowl!

For fans of my other story that's been on the back burner for a LONG time, don't worry. I've been working on the next chapter along with this one. The only reason this one came up first is because this chapter only had two scenes, one fight one romantic and the other one is just a bunch of fights with a little dialogue. But yes, I'm still working on it, expect it in about a week or so.

Thank you for reading.

Next chapter: Escape from Konoha

Please review


	24. Author's note

Hey everyone.

I know it's been a while. I bet you're wondering about why it is that I took so long to update this story. There are a few reasons that I did. Basically it all boils down to this. If I were to break my idea for the story as a whole into different books, the last chapter I released a couple years ago would have been the end of the first section. If there would have been a place to stop at least for a moment, it would have been there. Since the end of that however I have hit a bit of a snag. Not in ideas or anything like that. My ideas are for the story have not gone away. The problem I have encountered lately with this story is that my quality of writing for the future chapters has gone down drastically. One thing I pride myself on is that every chapter I have released is something I am proud of. Something that I feel is of at least pretty good quality. Unfortunately, my recent writing has regressed dramatically to the point to where I do not feel good about continuing this story.

Don't panic however. I do have a plan. As I felt that the end of where I wrote this is a solid temporary ending point for the story. I have decided on a different route that will assure a quality ending. If you were to split this up into books of a series, Tanebi would be considered the complete and finished book 1. I am satisfied with that. So I will leave part 1 up. If anyone here who truly loves this story wants to pick this up and write a sequel to this fanfic, please give me a PM.

I want to thank all 145 of you who subscribed to this story, all 155 of you who favorite this, and the 200 some odd people who gave me help to at least finish the first part. Writing a work of over 116,000 words even in a fanfic is something I never really thought I could have the focus to do. I really couldn't have done this without you guys. Special thanks to you too Catsi. You saved this story on a number of occasions.

With that said. Thank all of you for finishing Tanebi with me. Hopefully someone does pick this thing up so you all can see how this thing ends.


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